Life of Bay
by Princessatsea
Summary: Takes place 6 years in the future. This is a Bay and Ty story.
1. Chapter 1

Bay stood at the window of her small studio and looked at the snow falling from the sky. She loved Heidelberg, the small German town that had been her home for the past five years. It was two weeks to Christmas and the first one that she was spending away from her family. The thought made her somewhat sad, but she couldn't imagine herself spending it in a better place than in Germany, the country of Christmas. She spent at least two hours every day strolling through the Christmas market sampling delicacies paired with a cup of hot Gluehwein, the German version of mulled wine.

She smiled and ran her hand over her flat belly. No more Gluehwein from now on. The doctor had confirmed it today. She was eight weeks pregnant. The thought of the life growing in her belly made her feel all warm inside. She hadn't told anyone yet, not even her husband. When she had been late for the first time in her life, she had bought a pregnancy test at the drugstore, which tested positive. Wanting more reassurances she had gone to the doctor who had smiled and confirmed the news.

Bay looked around the small studio, which had served as her working place for the past two years. The workers from the gallery had just left and her artwork was packed in crates and ready to be shipped off the New York. She wistfully ran her hand across one of the crates and felt tears stinging in her eyes. She felt a sudden sadness to be parted from her art pieces. Bay shook her head and ran her sleeve across her eyes. "Stop it" she thought to herself "you are getting too hormonal here."

She was woken up from her daydreaming by a forceful knock on the door. She looked out the tiny window and say the yellow bicycle of the German post against the tree outside. She opened the door and smiled at the postman. He rustled through his bag and took out an official looking brown envelope.

"Frau Bay Mendosa?"

"Ja, das bin ich" Bay said in a slightly accented German.

"Koennten Sie bitte hier unterschreiben?" He held out a pen.

Bay scribbled her signature next to the cross. He took the paper back and handed her the envelope.

"Frohe Weihnachten" he said and held his hand against his cap.

Bay smiled and replied "Frohe Weihnachten." She had used the German expression for Merry Christmas countless times for the past week.

Bay picked up her coffee and made her way the small love chair in the back of the studio. She sat and opened the envelope carefully. She found another envelope inside and when she opened it she held a cheque in her hands.

It was made out to her name and the amount was $750,000.00. Bay looked at it for a long time with a big smile on her face. She would have to mark today's date as her lucky day. First the news about the pregnancy, now the money that would allow them to return home and make a good living. Ty was finishing his eight year enlistment in March and was leaving the army. They would go back to Kansas City then, where Bay would continue to work on her art and Ty was planning on opening a garage next to her dad's car wash and put his eight years of working on Humvees to good use.

Her cell phone rang and Bay answered. She recognized the booming voice of her agent on the other end immediately.

"Bay, darling how are you?"

"Hi Michelle, I'm very well thank you. In fact I couldn't be better."

"I trust then that the highly efficient Germans delivered the mail already?"

"They certainly did. And what good news that was."

"Sweetie, you are on a roll. At 24 and with your first major showing in Chelsea. It can only go up from there. Is the stuff ready for shipping?"

"Yes, half the art work is being collected tomorrow and the other half will be ready in two months as agreed."

"That's great news hon, we'll have it all ready for your showing at the end of March. Let me work the PR machine from this end. You'll be the next Frida Kahlo by the time I'm done with you."

Bay laughed "I wouldn't say that, but thank you!"

"Ah well, you haven't seen the mighty Michelle Adams at work yet. Gotta run. Take care."

Bay smiled. That was Michelle; always on the run. She had so gotten used to her laid back and low profile life in Heidelberg that she wasn't able to keep up with the pace of a New York art agent.

She picked-up her keys and locked up the studio. She made her way to the car and got ready for the 15 minute drive to her home at the army base.

She was thinking of how to break the news to Ty. He would be over the moon. Having grown-up with no family, he had always been eager to start his own but Bay had objected, wanting to sort out her career first before she embarked on a new adventure.

She thought back on the past five years of their marriage. They had managed to somehow keep their relationship afloat during his second deployment while he was away in Afghanistan for 11 months. It had been hard but worth it in the end. Bay was able to concentrate on her school work and graduated with honors. He had made it back in one piece and Bay had been over the moon. She was accepted into the Arts Program of the University of Kansas and after one year Ty had been deployed to the US Army Garrison Base in Heidelberg. The initial deployment was for 36 months. One month before he was due to leave he had asked Bay to marry him. She accepted and they had a small ceremony at her parent's house with their closest friends. They had moved to Germany together one month later.

It had been a big change for her as she had hardly been out of the US before in her life. Heidelberg was a lively University town and after she arrived she threw herself into learning German with as much enthusiasm as she had put into learning to sign. Her efforts paid off and after eight months she passed the language exam and was accepted into the Arts Program at the University of Heidelberg. One year ago during the annual University Arts Expo in Frankfurt her work had caught the eye of Michelle Adams, one of the most renowned art dealers in New York and the rest was history.

Angelo had given her some money to rent a small studio where she could work away from the base and that was where Bay spent most of her days. She was going to miss this sweet little town and the friends she had made here. On the other hand she was ecstatic to see her family and friends back home and having their baby surrounded by her families. Ty might have no family, she in turn had two so that more than made up for it.

She focused back on the present and on how to tell Ty. She wanted to make this special. She decided to cook him diner. Ty normally did all the cooking, which was a good thing as the cooking gene had not passed down from Angelo to Bay. This time though, she decided she would cook diner. She looked at her watch and saw that she had another two hours before Ty got home, so she stopped by the supermarket and bought a chicken, some potatoes and a salad. She would do a roast chicken. Ty loved it.

When she arrived at their small one-bedroom home on the base she went on the computer and looked for a recipe. She found one and got to work. When her chicken was in the oven she went into their bedroom to change into a red dress and she put on some discrete make-up. She then picked-up her sketch pad and sat on the bed. She became so engrossed sketching a picture of Ty holding a baby, their baby, that she lost track of time.

She looked-up after a while and wrinkled her nose. What was that smell? Then she heard the door slamming shut and Ty's voice.

"Bay! What the hell! The kitchen is on fire."


	2. Chapter 2

Bay shoved the drawing under Ty's pillow and rushed out of their bedroom and into the kitchen where she found Ty beating a towel on the stove and opening all the windows. She raised her hands to her mouth in horror.

"Oh no, oh no. That's our diner!"

Ty opened the oven and another blast of black smoke came out. He coughed and removed the tray. The contents were black.

"I sincerely hope that this is not our diner. Bay, what in God's name made you want to cook?"

"I just wanted to surprise you and make us a nice meal."

Ty dragged her into the living room and closed the door to the kitchen. He opened all the windows in there as well then turned and took her in his arms. He kissed her.

"My darling wife, can you please keep your surprises out of the kitchen in the future?"

"I followed the recipe Ty! Religiously! I don't know how this could have happened."

"Hmmm, and how long was it supposed to cook for?"

"45 minutes" Bay sulked.

"And how long has it been in there?"

Bay looked at her watch and gasped "Oh no, it's been in there for over 90 minutes."

Ty placed his hands around her face "Not so religiously then. I thought I was in charge of the food preparation in this house. What's the occasion? I didn't miss any birthday or anniversary did I?" He frowned trying to concentrate.

Bay laughed "No, you didn't. Though it wouldn't be the first time."

Ty looked relieved "By the way, you look amazing baby, you're positively glowing."

He nuzzled her neck "So what's the occasion then?"

Bay went over to the table to get her purse. She took out the brown envelope and handed it to Ty. He took it from her and opened it. He looked at the cheque and his eyes widened.

"Bay! This is incredible. Is this for the show in March?"

"Yes! Michelle called me after it was delivered. Oh Ty, we can go back home and open your garage."

"We certainly can! Oh Bay, I'm so happy for you, for us!"

He picked her up and twirled her around. She flung her arms around his neck and laughed.

"Hold on a second" He put his shirt over his mouth and walked into the kitchen.

He came back one minute later with a chilled bottle of champagne and two flutes.

"I had this saved up in the fridge in anticipation of this moment."

Bay looked stunned "That thing was in the fridge?"

Ty looked at her and rolled his eyes "Yes. That is why the kitchen should be left to me."

Bay stuck her tongue out at him in response. She looked at his oil smeared uniform and face.

"You look filthy by the way."

"I know. This bloody snow. We have to prepare for a shipment of 20 of our Humvees and I have three Privates out with the flu. So I had to jump-in and do the job myself."

"Well Staff Sergeant Mendosa, you mean that you actually saw the inside of a car for once? I thought you just barked out orders."

Ty laughed and picked her up "Well then Mrs. Mendosa, can I order you into our bed to celebrate?"

Bay squealed "You sure can!"

He carried her into their bedroom and deposited her on the bed, then went to close the curtains to give them some privacy. He took off his filthy clothes and sat on the bed in his boxer shorts. He opened the bottle of champagne, poured two glasses and handed one to Bay.

"Cheers to you sweetheart."

Bay smiled and took the tiniest sip, then set the glass aside.

"Bay, you're not drinking your champagne? It's your favorite."

"No, I can't today."

Ty looked concerned "Are you sick?"

"No, not really. There's something else I need to tell you."

"What is it? You're worrying me."

"I left something under your pillow."

Ty turned around and felt under his pillow. He found the sheet of paper and pulled it out. He looked at it intently.

"Gosh Bay, this is really good. That's me!"

"Yes."

"And who's the…." He looked at her with his mouth open "Bay, are you…are we…?"

"Yes"

Ty felt the tears in his eyes. He moved to hug her and burrowed his face in her hair.

"Oh Bay" he whispered in a choked-up voice.

Bay knew exactly what he meant. He was too emotional to say anything else. She could feel his love for her and his desire for a family after five years of marriage. She held him close and closed her eyes.

"You're going to be a Dad."

He looked at her with his gentle brown eyes and placed a hand on her belly.

"I'm going to be the best Dad ever and you'll be the best Mum. You've got no idea how happy you make me."

"And you me. I'm so ecstatic for us."

"When did you find out?"

"Two days ago I took a test at home and today I went to the doctor to confirm. I didn't want to tell you until I was sure."

"Is everything ok? Did he say anything?"

"Everything is fine, we'll go back in three weeks for the ultrasound. Then we get to see him"

"Or her. I'd love a girl. I'd love a boy. I love you."

He moved down and kissed her belly. Bay stroked his hair and after a little while she pulled him towards her. She kissed him and ran her hands across his chest. He stroked her back and pulled down the zipper of her dress. Bay wiggled out of it. He ran his hands across her breasts.

"Is it my impression or did these get bigger?"

"It's not your impression. My bra feels tight. And this is just the beginning."

"You'll be the most beautiful pregnant woman in the world sweetheart. I can't wait to see how you'll look in a couple of months."

"Ha! You won't say that when I'm fat."

"Awwwghh don't say that. Never fat. I'll love you in any shape, you know that. I didn't marry you for your body I married you for your cooking skills."

Bay laughed and slapped him "Make love to me Staff Sergeant."

Ty turned serious "Are you sure? Did the doctor say its ok? I don't want to hurt the baby."

Bay smiled "Its fine. And if you think that I'll wait nine months to make love to you, you are very mistaken. I am horny and hormonal and I want you now."

"Well then we better get to it. I don't want my horny and hormonal wife running around the base and falling into another man's arms."

Bay laughed "Oh Ty! Like I'd even know what to do with another man."

She kissed her husband; the only man she had ever been intimate with and who satisfied all her needs. Ty pulled her on top of him and concentrated on the task at hand.

Afterwards Bay leaned back on the bed slightly out of breath.

"That was intense! I think we just made a second one."

Ty laughed "I don't think that's possible somehow."

"I want to go to McDonald's now."

"Wait…what? Now? Bay are you sure that junk is good for the baby?"

"Yes. Now. I'm hungry, can we just go please?" Bay was becoming impatient.

"Bay, I can cook you anything you like, just tell me what you want and I'll bring it to you."

Bay jumped out of bed and was furious "I told you what I want. I want to go to McDonald's. I want a cheeseburger with fries and a milkshake. If you don't want to come with me I'll go by myself."

"Whoa Bay! Ok, ok, let's get dressed and go."

"Thank you!" she replied curtly.

Ty watched in astonishment as she looked for her clothes and started pulling them on in a hurry. He got out of bed and looked for some pants and a sweater. When he turned around she was already wearing her jacket, gloves and hat.

"Are you coming? What's taking you so long?"

"I'm coming, I'm coming!"

Bay was already out the door. Ty rolled his eyes. His wife was pregnant and hormonal. Bay was a handful on a normal day, now with the pregnancy he could see some difficult months ahead of him. He rushed to catch-up with her. He couldn't believe that ten minutes ago they had lain in a warm bed after some amazing sex and now he was driving through the snow to satisfy his wife's cravings for junk food.

Once Bay had her two cheeseburgers, the fries and the milkshake she was happy again. She laced her arm with Ty's as they walked back to the car.

"Ty, I feel much better now."

"That's good to hear…is there anywhere else you want to go to?" he asked cautiously.

"Just home. I'm tired."

"Home it is then."

Bay fell asleep five minutes after collapsing onto the bed. Ty went into the freezing kitchen to close the windows. It still smelled of burned food. He hoped that the pregnancy wouldn't cause Bay any urge to cook again. He walked to the fridge and picked-up a beer. That was the one thing he would miss dearly when they departed Germany. This country had the best beer.

He sat in the living room for a while immersed in thoughts about the baby and their return to KC. He was glad that the timing was so right. They would arrive back with her being four or five months along, giving them enough time to settle in at the guest house until the baby was there. After that he would focus on opening his garage.

He finished his beer and went to join Bay in the bed. He spooned her and rested his hand on her belly. He swore to himself to protect them forever. Bay didn't even stir.

_**Hope you are enjoying the story and thank you so much for the amazing reviews. Keep them coming and will hopefully update on Tuesday.**_


	3. Chapter 3

The next three weeks were a roller coaster for Bay. She threw herself into her artwork and poured her emotions into it. Thank God for Ty. She knew she was putting him through a lot. Her hormones were all over the place and yesterday she had even thrown her coffee cup at him because he had forgotten to top-up the credit on her cell phone. Blessed with good reflexes from his 8 years in the army, he had ducked away just in time.

Ty behaved like it was his calling in life to be around a pregnant Bay. Nothing could ever get him unfazed. He was her island of calm in the midst of all these crazy emotions. He understood when she needed to be alone and was there for her when she needed him. He had spent countless mornings next to her when she was overcome by morning sickness, wiping her forehead and taking her in his arms after she was able to pry herself away from the bathroom. He would get out of bed at 3 AM if needed and get Bay pizza or whatever she was craving without blinking an eye. They made love a lot since she seemed to be in a perpetual state of arousal, but their love making had become more tender and slow. He just wanted to be close to her all the time.

Today was the day Bay had her second doctor's appointment. At lunch time they would hear and see their baby for the first time. It was the 23rd of December and if all went well tomorrow they would break the news to her family on Skype. Bay ran her hands across her not so flat stomach. She was definitely starting to show now. After the appointment when Ty had to get back to the base she would have to go and buy some new clothes.

She sat in her studio and was busy photographing her new pieces. They were a bit different than what she had been working on before and she hoped that Michelle would like them. She powered-up her laptop and attached the pictures to the e-mail she was sending her agent.

Five minutes later she heard the sound of a phone call coming through on her Skype. It was Michelle. Bay looked at her watch; it was 11 AM, which meant that it was 5 AM in New York. Did that woman never sleep? She clicked the answer button. There was Michelle's face and she didn't even look like she had just gotten out of bed.

"Bay!" she sounded excited

"Hi Michelle, do you ever sleep?" Bay smiled at the screen.

"Not when I am waiting for an e-mail from you, darlin'!"

"What do you think?" Bay sounded insecure "I know it's different from what I've done before."

"Hon', I am speechless, I love these pieces. In fact I need to see them in person. I'll be on a flight to Germany the day after tomorrow."

"The day after tomorrow? What about Christmas? What will your family say?"

"Oh Bay, don't worry about that. I'm Jewish. Christmas is not my priority and I'll leave straight after our Hanukah celebration."

"I'm so happy you liked them, I was worried."

"Bay, they are fantastic. What made you do this?"

"Well, if you can keep a secret until tomorrow; I'm pregnant and my emotions are all over the place. Guess I transferred them to the paintings."

"Wow, darlin', congratulations. Why a secret? It's not like you're sixteen and not married or anything like that."

"Because we haven't told our families yet, I'm waiting to go to the doctor today for the 12 week ultrasound."

"Fabulous. So after next week I can work it into my marketing. By the end of the year everyone will want to own a Mendosa. Your beauty coupled with Ty's looks and the baby on the way will make this process so easy."

Bay laughed "Oh Michelle, you're a business woman alright. Nothing will stop you."

"Hon' if you paint like that when you're pregnant I'll have to have a serious word with Ty to make sure that you'll spend the next 10 years popping them out."

"That can only come from someone who has no kids! It's not that easy being pregnant, you know?"

"Ha, I believe you, but all I see at this moment is your art. I'll call you when I'm at the hotel. See you in two days."

Bay shook her head and smiled as she closed the laptop. She was so relieved that Michelle had liked her work. Though she drew the line at being pregnant for the next ten years, not that Ty would mind.

She got into her car and drove the small distance to the town center where her doctor had his practice. Ty was already waiting for her inside. He got-up when he saw her and looked at his watch.

"You're late! What happened?"

"I know, I'm sorry. Michelle called. She loves the new pieces. She's flying in the day after tomorrow to look at them."

"On Christmas day? Babe, I told you they were good. We'll have to have her over for lunch."

"She's Jewish so she doesn't care much about Christmas day. But it will be nice to have her round."

"Frau Mendosa, kommen Sie bitte?" They heard the voice of the nurse calling.

Bay and Ty entered the doctor's room. He smiled at her and shook hands with Ty.

"Nice to meet you Herr Mendosa" He said in heavily accented English.

"Nice to meet you too doctor and thank you for your good news." Ty's German was non-existent as he spent most of his time on the base and had felt no need for it in the past.

"Let's have a look at that baby then."

The doctor took her vitals, weight and blood pressure. He then had her lay down and he lifted her t-shirt and covered Bay's belly with a clear gel. He started up the ultrasound machine and ran it across Bay's belly. After a little while he stopped and turned-up the volume.

"Frau Mendosa, das ist das Hertz."

Bay could hear a fast thudding sound. She looked at Ty with moist eyes.

"Ty, that's the heartbeat of our baby."

Now Ty had tears stinging in the back of his eyes. He took Bay's hand in his and ran his other hand across her hair."

"That's the most beautiful sound I've ever heard."

Bay looked at the doctor "Junge oder Maedchen?"

She was dying to know the sex of their baby.

"Ist noch etwas frueh aber mal schauen."

"He says it's too early to tell the sex, but he'll have another look."

Ty nodded. The doctor ran the ultrasound across her belly for another two minutes, taking measurements. Then he paused and frowned. He looked closely at the screen.

Bay looked worried "Gibt es ein Problem?"

The doctor held up his hand and increased the size of the screen. Ty held Bay's hand tighter.

Then the doctor smiled and looked at Bay "Vielleicht Junge und Maedchen. Es sind Zwillinge."

Bay paled "Zwillinge?" she said tonelessly.

Ty was out of his mind with worry when he saw her face. He gripped her hand tighly.

"Bay, what's wrong? Talk to me!"

Bay took a deep breath and looked at him "We're having twins!"

The doctor smiled at Ty, nodded and held up two fingers.

Ty looked shocked, then his face broke out in a huge grin "There's two babies in there? That's fantastic!"

He leaned down and gave his wife a big kiss. She was still looking shocked.

"Are they boy and girl?"

The doctor shook his head "Noch zu frueh um zu sagen. Naechstes mal."

Bay translated "He says its too early to say. Next time."

Bay got off the table and fixed her clothes. She sat down with Ty and listened carefully to the instructions of the doctor. She was to come back after the holidays and have a blood test and he was prescribing her vitamins and folic acid to take daily. He also gave her the contact of a midwife, should she want to discuss any birth related matters with her. He also told them that they could continue their sex life normally for the time being, unless she felt any discomfort.

He got up and held out his hand.

"Viel Glueck und Frohe Weinhachten."

"Frohe Weinhachten" Ty beamed at the doctor.

"Sie werden huebsche Kinder haben." The doctor said.

Ty looked at Bay, who smiled "He says we will have beautiful children."

They walked out of the doctor's practice hand in hand. The nurse smiled at them. When they reached the street Ty put his arm around Bay.

"Twins! You never seize to surprise me, my darling wife." He grinned at her.

Bay was still in shock.

"What are you grinning about? This is not a laughing matter." But she was smiling.

"Well, I don't know. Guess I'm counting my blessings that I didn't have two coffee cups flying at me."

Bay punched him playfully and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Oh Ty, what are we going to do?"

"I have no idea. Let's start by breaking the news to the Kennish and Vasquez clan."

_**There you go. I had time to write another chapter this morning. Do you like it? Too corny? Let me know, your reviews are what keeps me going!**_


	4. Chapter 4

Bay hugged Ty good bye and went looking for clothes. She spent the next two hours going from shop to shop, picking up items here and there. Her mind was not on the task at hand though. She kept thinking of the recent news about the twins. How would she manage? She had no experience whatsoever around kids and now she was going to have two. Bay longed more than ever to sit down with Regina and Kathryn and pour her heart out. Her phone beeped and Bay saw it was a message from Ty.

HOW LONG WILL YOU BE

Bay replied

ON WAY

She drove back to the base and as soon as she got inside the house Ty called her to come to the living room. She found him sitting at the computer.

"Bay, you're here. That's good. I made a few calls and got your families together. They're waiting for our call."

Bay grinned and hugged him.

"Really? Thank you so much!"

Ty opened up Skype and made the call. Soon Bay could see everyone around the Kennish living-room. John, Kathryn, Regina, Angelo, Daphne, Emmett and little Abby with her crazy curls all standing up.

Kathryn and Regina looked worried "Ty, Bay what's the emergency? We're so worried!"

Bay settled on Ty's lap and he put his arm around her waist, resting his hand on her belly.

Her eyes moistened when she saw the big Christmas tree in the background. Ty felt her getting emotional and hugged her to him tighter. He looked at the screen.

"Bay and I have some news we would like to share with you. You want to tell them, sweetheart?"

"I'm pregnant."

Bay looked at the screen and smiled at the joy that erupted on the other side. Everyone was hugging each other and talking at the same time. Everyone but one. Bay didn't miss the brief shadow that passed across Emmett's face. Neither did Ty, whom she could feel tensing. Daphne looked at Emmett and sighed. Bay couldn't believe her eyes. How long would he carry a torch for her? He'd been with Daphne ever since she returned home from college one year ago and still he seemed not to be fully over Bay. Emmett regained his composure and managed a smile.

"Where's Toby?" Bay asked.

"Touring with his band and getting up to no good." John said rolling his eyes "We'll tell him when he calls."

Suddenly the face of seven year old Abby took over the entire screen.

"I'm going to be an auntie?" She tapped her hands across the screen in excitement.

Angelo and Regina laughed and pulled her back.

"You sure are." Angelo said.

"Bay, I'm so happy for you guys" Regina said "Guess Kathryn and I will have to fight about who gets to babysit."

Ty smiled "Maybe you won't."

Regina and Kathryn looked shocked "What do you mean, we won't. You're coming back, right?"

"Yes we are and we're having twins." Ty said and grinned.

Now everyone looked astounded on the other side. Then more cheers erupted. Bay and Ty smiled at the chaos in the Kennish house. Regina looked at Kathryn.

"Are there any twins in your family? I don't know of any in ours."

"No, no one has twins. Ty?"

"I wouldn't really know." He said forlornly.

Bay took his hand and squeezed it. She pressed her other hand on the screen.

"I miss you all so much."

Kathryn's eyes misted over "We miss you too, honey!"

After a bit more of chit chat and back and forth excitement and a lot of promises to speak the next day they ended the call. Bay hugged Ty.

"What an excitement! Thank you for organizing this. I'm a bit tired now."

"Yes, they're certainly a handful. Go and rest, I need to get back to work."

Bay retreated to the bedroom where she fell asleep within minutes. She woke up when she heard Ty come back three hours later. She got out of bed and found him dragging a big box into the living room.

"Wow Ty, what's that?"

"This babe, is our Christmas tree. I saw you looking at your parent's one and thought it would be fun to have our own."

"Oh Ty, how wonderful."

"German tradition says that it should only be decorated tomorrow, but we're not Germans so would you like to do it now?"

"Yes, yes, yes." Bay clapped her hands in excitement "Where are the decorations?"

"In the car. I'll bring them in."

Bay and Ty spent the next two hours decorating the tree. Once they finished Ty cooked them diner and they sat in front of the TV to watch a movie. Bay fell asleep in the middle of it and Ty carried her to bed.

The next morning was Christmas Eve and a Saturday so Ty had the day off. They slept in and then had their breakfast next to their new tree. Later they were going to have diner with the other families in the big hall at the base. Bay was drinking her coffee in her pajamas and flipping through the Jacko-o catalogue, Germany's number one supplier of baby goods and Ty was going through some paperwork. They didn't even notice it was past noon.

"Ty, I love this quiet. I guess it will be the last time we'll be able to enjoy a quiet Christmas. Next year we'll have two babies screaming."

Ty took off his reading glasses and smiled at her "Yes, and it'll be even better."

Bay ran her hand across her belly "It will. But right now I want to enjoy the silence."

That's when they heard a knock on the door. Ty and Bay looked at one another and rolled their eyes.

"So much for silence. Ty, can you get it? I'm not dressed."

Ty went to open the door and his mouth opened when he saw Regina, Kathryn and Daphne standing outside. After the hellos and hugging they stepped inside.

Bay stormed into the kitchen "Mum, Regina, Daphne, what are you doing here?"

She threw herself into Kathryn's arms, then hugged Regina and Daphne.

Kathryn looked at her and smiled "After those news yesterday we decided that we couldn't let you spend Christmas without us. Thank God you called early and we were able to make arrangements and catch the evening flight to Frankfurt."

"Oh Mum, I'm so happy. Where's Dad and how did you get past the barrier."

"Thank Senator Kennish for that. He took the opportunity to do some PR of visiting US troops abroad. He'll be here soon, he's meeting with the Commander and the press."

Bay rolled her eyes "Trust Dad not to miss out on that! Where are you staying?"

"At a hotel downtown. But we'll be having diner with you guys and the whole gang."

"And Angelo and Abby?" Bay asked

Regina shook her head "They couldn't make it. It was all so last minute and Abby doesn't have a passport yet. She was so sad that Angelo melted and he is taking her to Disneyworld tomorrow."

"Oh, what a shame, I would have loved to see them."

Kathryn put her arm around Bay as they walked into the living room.

"You look good Bay, you're glowing and your hair is beautiful."

"Thanks Mum, I feel great."

Ty was talking to Daphne and observing the interaction between his wife and her mothers. His heart skipped a beat when he thought of the moments like this he had missed throughout his life. He didn't think about his parents too often, but lately he had. He thought it had to do with the pregnancy and starting a family himself that was making him feel like this. He turned around when he heard a voice in the kitchen.

"Where's my baby Bay?"

John walked in the room and Bay smiled and ran into his arms.

"Dad, it's so good to see you!"

"You too Bay, you look great. How are my grandchildren doing in there?"

"Growing" Bay said and rolled her eyes.

He walked over to Ty and hugged him.

"Congratulations on your promotion Staff Sergeant Mendosa. I was just talking to your Commanding Officer and he thinks very highly of you."

"Thanks John, good to see you."

John looked up-and-down at Ty.

"So, twins, eh? I was right to park in front of your house all those years ago."

Ty laughed and looked at Bay.

"I'm so happy, you can't even begin to imagine."

John patted his shoulder "I know you are. You're a good guy, Ty. Sorry it took me so long to figure that out."

Bay stood up from the sofa where she was sitting sandwiched between Regina and Kathryn.

"I better go and get changed." She looked at Daphne "Do you want to come with me?"

Daphne nodded and together they walked into the bedroom. Bay closed the door and sat on the bed.

"With all that commotion outside we hardly get to talk. How have you been?" She talked and signed to Daphne.

"Good, John has been working me like crazy ever since I took the Paralegal position in his office."

"And how are things with Emmett?"

Daphne's eyes clouded over briefly.

"Did you see his face when he heard about your baby? Bay, I will always play second fiddle with Emmett and I don't know if I'm ready to do that."

"Oh Daphne, please don't say that. It's not true. Even if it were, there is no way Emmett and I could ever get back together. I'm married and madly in love with my husband."

"I don't know Bay, he spent too much time after you guys split-up pining for you and I think it damaged him for life."

"Maybe it was just a temporary flashback. We all get those. It's not like he talks about me when you're together."

"No, that's true. Oh Bay, I'm so happy for you and to be a Switchter aunt to those babies. They'll be beautiful and I'll spoil them rotten."

Bay hugged her "You'll be the best Switchter aunt the world has ever seen."

Bay got changed and joined her family in the living room again. She chose to wear one of her new maternity dresses. This one was made of red velvet and Bay didn't really have a need for it besides on Christmas day, but heck, she had just been given an enormous cheque, she was entitled to spoil herself.

John had a beer with Ty to discuss the future garage business, then he was gone for the rest of the day to work on more PR strategies.

At 7 they all went into the large room at the end of the base that had been set-up to accommodate all the soldiers and their families for a Christmas meal. John was invited to do an opening speech in his capacity as Senator and afterwards they all sat together to enjoy their meal.

Bay was over the moon at having her family there for the celebration and was all smiles. She opened the dance floor with her Dad, who then swirled her over to Ty, while he continued his dance with Kathryn. Ty then danced with Daphne and John with Regina. By the time Bay made it back on the dance floor and into Ty's arms she was looking a bit the worse for wear. Ty looked at his watch and saw that it was past 11 PM.

"Sweetheart you look white as a sheet. I think it's time for us to retire for the night."

"Yes, I feel a bit tired."

They walked over to their table and said goodbye with the promise of getting back together for Christmas lunch the following day. Together they made their way to their house.

When they got in Ty dragged Bay straight into the bedroom. He unzipped her dress and she let it fall to the floor.

"Right, off to bed with you" Ty said

"I can't sleep just yet Ty, all the excitement going on today has left me a bit light headed. I need to relax a bit first."

"Ok sweetheart, so what do you want to do? You want to have a bath?"

Bay turned around and placed her arms around his neck.

"Only if you'll have one with me."

Ty kissed her "Of course I will if that's what you want."

He went into the bathroom and ran the bath. While the water was running he went into the kitchen to get a beer, then returned to the bedroom to get undressed. He picked up four candles and went into the bathroom where Bay was waiting for him.

"Awwwghh you brought candles, are you feeling romantic?"

"It's for relaxation purposes Bay, not for romance. You're much to tired for that."

"Never. Can I have both?"

Ty laughed and kissed her nose "No."

He lowered himself into the bath and held out his hand. Bay took it and sat between his legs. She wiggled around trying to get comfortable.

"Ty, we've had tons of baths in here and I remember there being much more space."

"Yes darlin', that was before there were four of us in here."

"No, it can't be. Did I get that much bigger?"

Ty tenderly ran his hands across her belly.

"Yes baby you did and you have never looked better to me."

"Ty, I'm 12 weeks along, how will I look in four months. I won't be able to walk."

"Then I'll carry you."

He kissed her neck and massaged her shoulders. Bay melted into his hands. She could feel all the tension disappearing. She closed her eyes and lay back. Ty ran his soapy hands across her breasts and circled them slowly. Bay moaned. He continued his ministrations, then moved his hands down to her belly and stroked her bump. Bay put her hands on top of his and they enjoyed their special moment in silence. After a little while Bay pushed Ty's hands down. He smiled and focused his attention on where she wanted it. Bay moaned again and tried to make more room for him in the bathtub. She turned her head so she could kiss him and he obliged. Bay grabbed his hair and he could feel the shudder through her body. She lifted herself slightly in the bathtub and then leaned against him with a happy sigh.

"Ty, that's exactly what I needed. Shall we continue this in bed?"

"Bay, that's the only thing you're getting tonight. We're going to bed to sleep now."

_**I hope you enjoyed this chapter and the focus on the families. The last part if for a special reviewer. I will update soon, please send me your reviews, can't wait to hear from you.**_


	5. Chapter 5

Bay woke-up the next day feeling refreshed. She had gone to sleep as soon as her head hit the pillow and managed a solid nine hours. She could feel Ty wrapped around her with one hand on her belly and his leg sandwiched between hers. She sighed in content and pressed herself against his body.

How had she gotten so lucky with her husband? Not only was he gorgeous but he had proven himself in every way over the past four weeks. From mostly smiling through her temper tantrums to calming her over the news of the twins to being there for her when she needed her family.

She put her hand on top of his and felt him stir. She shifted her head slowly to look at him and saw that he was fast asleep. How strange, she could have sworn that he had moved. While she was looking at him she felt him move again, then realized with a gasp that it wasn't him. It was coming from her belly. It was her babies. Bay felt tears in her eyes and slowly shook Ty's shoulder. He opened his eyes sleepily and was about to say something, but Bay put her finger on her mouth. He looked at her with a question in his eyes and Bay pressed her hand against his.

"They're moving." She whispered.

Ty opened his eyes in wonder and focused his attention on her belly. They felt nothing for another 5 minutes and then they felt a strong kick.

"Wow!" was all Ty managed to say, his voice choked-up with emotion.

He slowly disentangled himself and knelt between Bay's legs. He lifted her t-shirt and placed both his hands on her bump and stroked it. Two minutes later he felt another kick, then one more. Ty had tears in his eyes.

"Bay, this is the most beautiful thing. These are our babies."

"Yes they are, and they look to be a handful already." Bay said smiling.

Ty continued stroking her belly, then bent down to kiss it. Bay ran her hands through his hair. As emotional as she was feeling, Ty's hands on her were also creating an additional effect. She moaned and in a bold move pushed his head down. Ty looked up at her surprised, but when he saw her face he smiled and complied. Bay was in heaven.

After an intense session of love-making Bay and Ty rested their heads on their pillows utterly spent. Bay ran her hand across his chest.

"Ty, I can never get enough of you. After all these years it still always feels like the first time we did it."

Ty hugged her to him and kissed her head.

"It does, and I can never get enough of you either. No other woman would ever measure up to you Ms. Mendosa."

"I wonder how we're going to handle this part of our marriage once the babies are here."

"I'm sure we'll find a way to work it into our schedules."

Bay's phone rang at the same time as their home phone. Ty went into the living room to take the call and Bay picked-up her cell phone. It was Michelle.

"Darlin' how you doing?"

"Hi Michelle, I'm doing fine, are you here?"

"Just checking into the hotel now. When can we meet?"

"I can be at the studio in about one hour. My family is here from Kansas City and we're having lunch with them. Do you want to join?"

"Your family is here? Oh that's fabulous. You mean all of them?"

"Well, not Angelo or my sister Abby, but my parents and Regina and Daphne are."

She could basically hear Michelle thinking in the background.

"Oh ok, that'll work, we can always photoshop them in afterwards."

"Sorry, Michelle, what was that?"

"Oh Bay, sorry, just thinking out loud here. I need to make some phone calls to find a photographer. This is too much of a good marketing opportunity to miss."

"Michelle, you're incorrigible."

"Hon' you won't be saying that when the millions are rolling in. See you in one hour."

Bay hung up the phone shaking her head and smiling. She wondered what her family would think of having Michelle roll-in with photographers in tow for Christmas lunch.

She got into the shower. Two minutes later Ty's head peeked through the curtain. He didn't look happy.

"Ty, what's wrong?" Bay blinked at him while trying to wash her hair.

"I just got a call from the Commander. Three of my Privates are now out with the flu and we need to ship out 20 Humvees to the Middle East. They want me to supervise the transit to Bremerhafen and the loading onto the ship."

"When do you have to leave?"

"Tomorrow and I'll probably be gone for a week. I hate to leave you by yourself."

"Oh Ty, don't, I'll be fine. It'd be worse if they were shipping you off to the Middle East."

Ty did not look convinced.

"How long is your family staying?"

"I think they are leaving on New Years Day."

"So that's only two days you'll be by yourself. Will you be ok?"

"Ty, don't be silly. Of course I will. We live on an army base, I'm never by myself."

Bay called her parents and told them they would be at the studio. They got dressed and Ty drove Bay to the studio. A short while later they saw a taxi pulling-up outside and there was Michelle. Bay opened the door and hugged her. She looked stunning as always in a black and white suit paired with a large Louis Vuitton handbag.

"Bay, it's good to see you. You look radiant!"

"So do you Michelle. Please come in."

Michelle stepped into the studio and hugged Ty.

"Ty, you keep getting more and more handsome. Do you have an older brother by chance?"

Ty laughed and shook his head "Unfortunately not. Nice to see you too and thank you for the generous cheque."

"That's just the beginning. Your wife has a bright future ahead. Especially if she paints anything like she's been painting since she became pregnant." She winked at Ty.

"I'm happy that you like her work. I certainly love it."

"Ok Bay, let's see it then."

For the next hour Michelle examined and photographed every painting. She took measurements and wrote descriptions. Bay sat with Ty on the love seat and watched her work.

"Bay, these paintings are something else. I'm already writing the press release in my head."

"Thanks Michelle, that means a lot to me."

They heard a knock on the door. Bay's family was here. A big commotion ensured with a lot of Ohhhs and Aaaahs over Bay's artwork. Regina had tears in her eyes. She walked over to Bay and hugged her.

"Bay, this is amazing. You say you inherited your talent from me, but you are so much better."

"Oh Regina, don't sell yourself short. You're an amazing artist."

"You paint as well?" Michelle asked.

"Just for fun."

"Let me see your work, maybe we can do a mother and daughter show one day."

Bay laughed "Michelle, do you ever think about anything but work?"

"Not when I see these types of paintings, my dear."

Michelle made a phone call and half an hour later a German photographer and a make-up artist turned up at the door of the studio. Bay knew how much this country valued the Christmas holiday, so she didn't want to know what Michelle had paid them to come here on Christmas day.

The next three hours were spent with doing their make-up and photos. They took a lot of pictures inside and outside. By the time they were done it was 4 PM. Bay looked at her watch.

"Oh no, we missed Christmas lunch. I'm starving. Where're we going to get anything to eat? Everything's closed. Ty, there's only one place!"

Ty groaned "Not again, please!"

Bay batted her eyes at him and he rolled his, but picked up the car keys after he got everyone's order. Half an hour later he was back loaded with paper bags. The family settled around the studio munching away on a Christmas lunch of junk food.

John held up his burger "This is the strangest Christmas lunch I've ever had. But I get to taste a McSchnitzel."

He walked over to Michelle "Any chance I can get a look at that contract?"

Bay rolled her eyes at Michelle, who just smiled.

"Let's go over it then Senator Kennish."

_**I'm leaving on holiday tomorrow, but wanted to give you an update before I go. The next chapter will jump three months ahead and I need baby names! Send me your suggestions and I appreciate reviews as always. **_


	6. Chapter 6

It was April and Bay stood in the middle of Times Square and marveled at the lights and crowds around her. She had been back in the States for six weeks and three weeks ago she had come to New York City to work on the opening of her art show at a gallery in Chelsea.

She had been so busy for the past three weeks that she hadn't even made it to Times Square before today. As much as she would have loved to walk around a bit more, she was rapidly getting tired and the multitude of people around her was exhausting her. Her ankles felt swollen and her belly felt heavy. She was seven months pregnant and felt like a whale. She signaled to her mother that she was ready to go back to the hotel and Kathryn hailed a cab for them.

On the way downtown to the hotel Bay thought of Ty. He was in still in Germany and she hadn't seen him in 6 weeks. It hurt to think about him, she just missed him so much. Their plans had gotten derailed when Bay's doctor had told her two months ago that she should travel back to the States. Having twins was always considered to be a higher risk pregnancy, and although she was healthy, the doctor had insisted that she should travel back home to receive her follow-up medical care there in preparation for the birth of the babies. During that visit they had also found out that they were expecting a boy and a girl and they had been overjoyed at the news.

Ty's time with the army was until mid-April and he had been forced to stay behind in Heidelberg. He had been utterly devastated to see her leave without him, but the safety of their future children was their top priority. Having had no other choice, Bay had flown to Kansas City, where she stayed for three weeks until she had come to New York. Her doctor in KC had not been thrilled at having her fly out for the opening, but he had grudgingly agreed with the understanding that Kathryn would be with her at all times.

Her family back in KC had been so amazing and Kathryn and Regina had taken care of all the shopping for the nursery and the clothes. All Bay had to do was chose items from the numerous catalogues they would bring her and they would take care of the rest. The only thing Bay had taken care of was the painting of two murals in the nursery at the guesthouse. On one side she had painted a knight's castle complete with a drawbridge and knights on horses. On the other side she had painted a pink princess castle with a princess and a rose garden. John had spent a lot of time baby proofing the guest house and it was now ready for their little family. Bay was staying at the main house with her parents for the time being.

Michelle had booked them into a suite at a luxurious hotel downtown and she was also conscious of Bay's limitations and had her do as little as possible. Still she was needed for the provisions of descriptions of her paintings, which had then been photographed and printed for display in a glossy catalogue. She was also required to do several interviews however Michelle would never schedule more than one or two a day so that she could get her rest.

Her opening was in two days and Kathryn and Michelle wanted her on a strict bed rest until then. Bay had begged and pleaded to at least see Times Square once and Kathryn had relented and taken her there. After half an hour Bay realized that it was all too much for her and all she wanted now was her bed.

Once they arrived back at the hotel Bay had a bagel with cream cheese, her new addiction since arriving in New York, and went to bed where she had a long nap. When she woke up again it was 3 PM and she decided to settle in the lounge wearing her fluffy white hotel bathrobe with a cup of decaf to watch her new favorite channel, NY1. She couldn't get enough of the amazing stories of New York that seemed to get updated on an hourly basis. Kathryn thought it was awful that all she wanted to see was shootings in the Bronx, suicides on the subway and armed robberies in Queens, but Bay loved it.

Bay waited for an hour so that she could call Ty on Skype for their daily 4 o'clock chat. Yesterday they hadn't talked because Ty had a diner to go to and now she was dying to tell him all about Times Square. She opened Skype and logged in. She saw that Ty was offline and she moaned in disappointment. Then she saw a message flash up on her screen. It was from Ty.

"Sorry sweetheart, another rain check for today, the Commander wants to have me over for diner."

"No, no, no!" Bay banged her hand on the table in fury. This was now the second day that she had not talked to him. Why hadn't he texted her on her cell phone so she could have made the time earlier. She was so angry. She was going to give him a piece of her mind alright.

Kathryn had gone out to sort out the reception details with Michelle and left her a note saying not to wait up for her. Bay was starting to get bored. There was no Ty, no mother and even New York seemed to want to mock her as the most exciting thing today seemed to be a shark that was found in a subway car. While quite astonishing there was only so many times that Bay could hear the story.

That's when she heard a knock on the door. She got up to opened the door and wrapped her bath robe tighter around her. She was astonished to see Emmett standing there holding a bouquet of flowers. She smiled at him and signed.

"_**Emmett, what are you doing here**_?"

"_**I came to see your opening**_."

"_**But it's not for another two days. Regina and Daphne are only flying in tomorrow**_."

"_**Well, I kind of combined this trip with some other business I had to attend to**_."

"_**Ok, come in then**_."

Emmett walked into the sitting room and sat on the couch. Bay took the seat on the recliner in front of him. She hadn't been expecting any visitors and she felt a bit self- conscious wearing only her robe over her underwear.

"_**Do you want a drink?**_" she offered

"_**I'll have a beer, thanks**_."

Bay went to the mini bar and took-out a beer for Emmett and a Diet Coke for herself.

"_**You look good**_." He signed smiling.

"_**Thanks, I feel like a beached whale**_."

"_**Pregnancy becomes you Bay**_" he looked at her wistfully.

"_**If you say so**_."

"_**Still no sign of Ty, I see**_."

"_**He is working Emmett, he'll be here next week**_."

"_**Must be hard for you not having your husband by your side during this. I wouldn't leave my wife if she was in the same situation**_."

"_**Ok Emmett, if you came here just to criticize Ty, which seems to be one of your favorite things to do ever since I got back, then you can leave again. I'm really not in the mood for this**_."

Emmett raised his hands in apology. Bay frowned at him. Since she got back to the States, she had only seen Emmett twice. During the five years she was in Germany she had seen him briefly once while on holiday in KC, and now they had mostly been in touch because of Daphne. Bay thought of the conversation she had had with Daphne back at Christmas and she didn't fee entirely comfortable being in her hotel room with Emmett by herself wearing only a bathrobe. Not that she felt she was doing anything wrong, but thinking of Daphne's insecurity and his face when he had heard about the pregnancy made her feel slightly uncomfortable. She had somewhat tried to rekindle her friendship with Emmett the last two times she saw him, but he had made two or three derogatory comments about the army and Ty and she had been furious. If that's the way it was going to be she rather not talk to him.

"_**Do I get to see your work before the show opens?**_"

"_**If you want to I can give Michelle a call and see if you can come round the gallery**_."

"_**Will you give me a grand tour**_?"

"_**No Emmett, I can't. I'm on strict bed rest until the opening night**_."

"_**Oh.! I'll wait for the opening night then**_." He looked disappointed.

That's when they hear a second knock on the door. Bay got up and walked to the door. She opened it and there was Ty also bearing a big bouquet of flowers.

_**Thanks to your inspiring reviews I actually wrote this on a night flight from the US to Europe. It might not be stylistically up to par with the other chapters and I blame it on poor light and the limited space in coach for typing on a laptop. I hope you still like it and I'm almost done with the next chapter (it was a long flight!). Would love your reviews as always. **_


	7. Chapter 7

Bay looked at him with her mouth open and threw herself into his arms. He hugged her tightly to him. Bay had tears streaming down her face. She let go off him and took his face in his hands.

"Ty, oh Ty, I missed you so much. I'm so happy to see you. How did you get away one week earlier?"

"You can thank your father and a few well placed calls to my Commander. He managed to convince him to cut me loose 10 days earlier to be at your opening. I don't want to know what he promised him in return."

"Ty, you can't imagine how much I've missed you. Today I went to Times Square for the first time and all I could think about was that I wanted to be there with you."

She hugged him again and he burrowed his face in her hair. He felt tears in his eyes as well.

"We'll go there again, I promise."

"I was going to give you a piece of my mind for not being on Skype for two days in a row."

"I'm sorry babe, I was traveling and planning on surprising you."

"Your surprise was the best ever. I even dressed up for the occasion as you can see."

"Yes Bay, this is quite an outfit you chose for my return."

"I spent the whole day sleeping and then I moved to the couch to watch TV and Emmett showed up.'

"Emmett? Dude! Not again! What the hell is he doing here? Can he smell it that I'm not around?"

Ty rolled his eyes and didn't look happy.

"It's ok Ty, he just came to wish me good luck with the opening and wanted to have a sneak peak at the art work. But I told him that I couldn't take him as I am on strict bed rest for the next two days. Orders from Kathryn and Michelle. Maybe you would like to take Emmett down for a sneak peak." Bay smiled and winked at Ty.

"The hell I will. He needs to leave now. I want to be on bed rest for the next two days as well."

He smiled at her wickedly and ran his hands across her bottom.

"I need to explore every inch of your body to see what has changed."

Bay laughed "I'm horribly fat now."

"You have never looked more beautiful, my darling wife."

Bay disentangled herself from his arms and they walked into the lounge hand in hand. Emmet looked surprised when he saw Ty standing there with Bay. He raised his hand in greeting and Ty nodded at him curtly.

Bay signed "_**You need to leave now**_."

Emmett nodded and got-up "_**See you in two days at the opening. I'll be at the annual Deaf Convention at the Javits Center if you need anything. They've hired me as the official photographer.**_"

Ty waved good bye to him and disappeared into the bedroom with his suitcase. He came back a few minutes later.

"It's quite a place you got here Bay."

"Yes, thanks to Michelle. Although we're sharing with Kathryn."

"No we're not. I called Michelle telling her I was coming so that she could give me directions and she's already booked a different room for your mother."

"And Michelle didn't tell me anything either. I bet my mum knows and that's why she told me not to wait up. Hold on!"

She walked into Kathryn's bedroom.

"Yes, her stuff is gone. So everyone knew but me."

Ty stretched out on the bed and held out his hand.

"I thought you're supposed to be on bed rest and yet you're still up and about. How about joining me here?"

Bay didn't need to be asked twice. She lay down next to him. Ty turned sideways to kiss her. Bay grabbed his hair and pulled him towards her. She kissed him passionately.

"Ty, I thought this day would never come."

"So did I Bay, so did I."

"Have I told you how much I love your hair? Will you let it grow longer now that you left the army?"

"Do you really want that? I'm 27 now. Isn't that too old for the long hair I had as a teenager?"

"No never! You'll look great."

"Ok then, we'll see."

He kissed her again and pulled at the belt of the bathrobe. He let it fall open and gasped when he saw her.

"Oh Bay! Your body has changed so much since I last saw it!"

Bay blushed and tried to cover herself "I told you I was fat."

Ty gently pushed her hands away "Fat? Are you kidding me? Bay, you are pregnant, you have our babies in there. It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

He reverently ran his hands across her belly.

"Two months and they'll be here Ty"

"I know, baby, I know. I can't wait to see them."

"Tomorrow we can use our bed rest to chose names, what do you think?"

"I would love that."

He kissed her again. Bay rolled over so she was facing him and ran her hands across his t-shirt. She tugged at it and he took it off.

"Bay, you know we can't, right? You heard the doctor. It might induce labor and this is the most critical time."

"Yes, I know we can't. But we can do tons of other things." She smiled at him seductively.

Ty laughed "Oh Bay, you're a little minx alright."

They spent the next hour doing everything but having actual sex. Bay was needy and kept seeking his closeness and Ty was over the moon at being able to be with her again. He was doing everything he could to leave her thoroughly satisfied.

"Ty, you wouldn't believe how much I have missed your hands in the past six weeks."

"Sweetheart, I have missed your hands and the rest of you. You can't even begin to imagine how much."

She saw a shadow creeping across his eyes.

"Did you have nightmares again?" Bay stroked his face.

"A few. I always do when you're not there. I guess that's how it's going to be for the rest of my life."

"Oh Ty, I'm so sorry. I'm here now and I'm not going anywhere."

She thought back to the beginning of their relationship when Ty had been plagued by nightmare after nightmare. They were always about Kabul and Bay dying. Slowly they had stopped when he was with her, but she knew that he still had them when he was by himself. He had gotten used to sleep all wrapped around her, which had been hard for Bay to grow accustomed to in the beginning, especially during the summer. Over the years she had also gotten used to it and now missed it when he was gone.

"Tell me about the preparations for the opening."

"I basically told you everything during our Skype calls already. I've given a lot of interviews, everyone seems to want to talk to me after the press release Michelle put out there two months ago."

Ty nodded. He remembered the article Michelle had sent them after she had visited them in Heidelberg. It had been excellently written and focused on Bay having been switched at birth, her going to school at Carlton and her relationship and later marriage to a man in the military. It had been a very powerful article and coupled with the photos Michelle had taken and some sneak peeks of her artwork it had created waves in the art world. The interest was so big that Michelle had had to change the location of the opening to a larger gallery.

Ty was jostled from his thinking by a knock on the door. Bay looked at him sleepily and he put on Bay's robe and went to open it.

It was a tailor carrying a large bag.

"Mr. Tyler Mendosa?"

"Yes, that's me." Ty replied surprised.

"Ms. Adams sent me with some black tie suits for you to try on."

Ty rolled his eyes but smiled and beckoned the man in. Did Michelle ever miss a beat? He went back into the bedroom to check on Bay and was glad to see that she had fallen asleep. She needed her rest and him coming into town had not really helped matters.

For the next half hour Ty tried on three different suits while the tailor made small adjustments here and there. Ty had never been fitted for a black tie suit before and was surprised at the amount of needles the tailor seemed to pin into a suit that Ty thought fitted perfectly fine from the very beginning. He was relieved to see when the man started to pack his bag with promises that the altered suit would be delivered to him later in the evening.

Ty began to feel the jetlag now and decided to join his wife for a little nap. He carefully got into bed and wrapped his arms around her. He was asleep within minutes.

Bay woke-up two hours later and felt the familiar shape of her husband wrapped around her. She smiled. So it hadn't been a dream. He was really there. She wanted to stay in bed but needed to use the bathroom, so she slowly disentangled herself. When she got back he was already awake.

"I'm starving wifey, guess my hours are all messed-up. Can we get some room service?'

"We can, but there is the nicest little restaurant just at the next corner where I've been going with Kathryn if you want to go."

"Hmmm, aren't you supposed to be in bed?"

"I've been in bed pretty much all day; I could do with getting some air."

"Ok, if you think it's alright."

Ty got out of bed and got dressed, then helped Bay into her clothes. They made their way out of the hotel and to the La Bottega restaurant around the corner. Bay ordered the Ziti pasta and Ty the Lasagna and they got ready to enjoy their first meal together in six weeks.

_**Love the reviews, hate the jetlag. Here's another update. I think Ty handled it well, don't you? He's a big boy now. Baby names coming up next!**_


	8. Chapter 8

"Bay, have you thought about names for the babies?"

"Yes Ty, I've done nothing but thinking of names. I want them to have some meaning. I've looked through countless name websites on the internet and I have some suggestions."

Ty smiled and took her hand.

"Of course you do, my dear. Go ahead then."

"Well, I was thinking that I wanted to have a name related to art, then of course I thought about names that relate to our melting pot of heritages and then there's also the part that they were conceived in Germany."

"Bay that certainly is a mouthful. Let's work through it then. What were you thinking in terms of art?"

"I like to call our daughter Renee. We first met over a quote of Rene Magritte, he is an artist and although he is from Belgium it's a French name and I'm half French, so that name would cover two aspects."

"Renee" Ty let the name roll on his tongue "I like it. I really do. Though back in KC they will probably murder it and she'll end up being called Rannay. But yes, we can live with that."

"I'm glad you like it. Now we have our Latino heritages to cover. Do you have a suggestion? Anyone who meant anything to you?"

"I really don't have that many people in my life who have made an impact. I loved my great-aunt dearly. She was called Mariana."

"Renee Mariana, that sounds nice. I love it!"

"Or Mariana Renee?"

"Also works for me. Let's sleep on it."

They smiled at one another and were glad that they had managed to reach an agreement for their baby girl.

"Now for boys." Bay said "We still need to cover Germany and your Cherokee heritage."

Ty smiled "I've never heard of a more frightening combination. We need to go easy on our son, we don't want him to be the laughing stock at school."

Bay laughed "I've been reading books about German baby names. They all sound a bit complicated like Friedrich, Gustav, Rolf, Heinrich."

Ty rolled his eyes.

"Bay, there is no way we're calling our son any of those names. Hell, I can't even pronounce them."

Bay laughed "If you had invested a bit more time into actually learning the language of the country we lived in for 5 years, you wouldn't have that problem."

"Well I didn't and if I can't pronounce them, no one else in KC will be able to."

"You're lucky I was joking. Our son won't be called any of those names. I like Kai."

"Kai…Kai…that's not bad. Is that a German name?"

"Yes and it was the name of my favorite arts teacher at University. He's the one who encouraged me to paint what I'm exhibiting tomorrow. I wouldn't have made it without him."

"Ok then, I can live with Kai, at least it's pronounceable and kind of different."

"Do you have a suggestion for a middle name?"

"I don't know. I really don't have such a big connection to my Cherokee side ever since my great-grandfather died when I was a child."

"What was his name?"

"He was called John, but his middle name was Balin. It means mighty warrior."

"Kai Balin Mendosa and Renee Mariana Mendosa or Mariana Renee Mendosa. I like it."

"Me too. Bay, won't your parents be offended that we didn't choose any names from your family?"

"I don't think so. Bay and Toby weren't names from our family either."

"Ok then. Maybe we can call the next set of twins John Angelo and Kathryn Regina."

Bay looked at him with a horrified expression.

"Ty, no more sets of twins. How can you already be thinking of having more children when these ones aren't here yet?"

Ty took her hand and kissed her palm.

"Because Bay Mendosa, I want a whole brood of them with my lovely wife."

Bay smiled "We'll see. What I want is a proper honeymoon."

Ty looked astounded "A honeymoon? After five years of being married?"

"Yes a honeymoon. We never had one. After we got married we went straight to Germany and all our holidays after that were spent in KC. I want to go to an exotic island and just be with you for two weeks."

Ty smiled "That sounds fantastic, maybe we can do that in 8 months time if we get your mothers to baby sit."

"I'll look forward to that."

They finished their meal and walked back to the hotel hand-in-hand. Ty saw that Bay was getting tired and as soon as they were in the room, he helped her into bed. He lay down next to her and watched TV for another three hours. He finally managed to fall asleep as well.

They spent the next day mostly in bed. They ordered breakfast from room service and spoke briefly to Kathryn and Michelle, who dropped by to see them. Afterwards they had a bath together in the enormous Jacuzzi bathtub and went back to bed. Bay tried to get Ty to share her enthusiasm for the NY1 channel, but he was having none of it. After spending 8 years in the army and two long deployments to a war zone the last thing he needed was to hear about shootings, murders and muggings in New York. They finally settled on watching a movie on demand. Bay was ecstatic about having her husband back with her and managed to have a real bed rest day. She felt refreshed and ready to handle the circus of her opening the following day.

_**This is a short chapter, as I didn't want to combine it with the opening of Bay's art show. I hope you enjoy it. Bay's show will bring a lot of characters from the past. Did you like the names? Two of them come from a reviewer. Please let me know what you think, I love your reviews. **_


	9. Chapter 9

Ty was wide awake at 3 AM. Damn that jetlag, he thought as he slowly disentangled himself from around his wife and went to sit in the lounge. He was nervous about the opening today. He thought back to his second deployment in Kabul and the time they were patrolling the streets and training the Afghan police. While walking towards the former market, what was now more of a joke, they heard a loud explosion. It had been a suicide bomber who had taken out himself plus a crowd of thirty civilians around him.

Ty closed his eyes in pain as he thought of the bloodshed and the limbs lying around them. He ran his hand across the small scar just below his cheek, where he had been hit by a flying object and which had required Aida to sew him up with 10 stitches. At the time he hadn't even noticed the blood pouring down his chin as they tried to look for survivors in the rubble and confusion that followed.

Ever since that day he had done his best to avoid crowds. They made him nervous and edgy. Even after his first deployment he hadn't liked them. He remembered his short layover in New York on his way to KC seven years ago and how he had cowed on the streets completely stressed out by the sirens and people around him. He sincerely hoped that Bay would have forgotten about going to Times Square after the opening, he didn't think he'd be able to face that crazy place.

Just the thought of mingling in a crowd of people in a confined space for hours was making him break out in cold sweat. He shook his head trying to rid himself of all the painful memories. His wife was seven months pregnant and needed him more than ever tonight. He had to keep his composure at all costs.

He took a deep breath and tried to think of his babies. Mariana and Kai. Funny how he had automatically called his future daughter Mariana. He would have to mention it to Bay, maybe they could settle on Mariana Renee instead of Renee Mariana. He felt himself calming down, his hands stopped shaking and he managed a small smile. He couldn't wait to hold his son and daughter in his arms. Thinking of them would get him through the evening.

He heard the door to the bedroom open and saw Bay standing in the doorway.

"Ty, why did you leave?" she asked sleepily.

"Bay, go back to bed. I couldn't sleep because of the jetlag. You need the rest."

"Can you come? My back hurts."

"Sure, let me have a look."

Ty sat on the bed and settled Bay between his legs. He pushed her long hair to the side and kissed her neck. Bay sighted and leaned against him in content. He stroked her belly, then placed his hands on her shoulders and kneaded them gently.

"Where does it hurt?"

"Everywhere really, but the bottom of my back is killing me."

"I'll work on it."

"Ty, I'm nervous about tonight. What if no one will like my work? What if I'm not good enough to make it?"

"Sweetheart, you're an amazing artist. Everyone will love your work. Do you think someone like Michelle would have taken the risk with you if you weren't any good?"

"I guess not."

"This is New York Bay, not some small gallery in KC. You've already made it on so many levels."

"It still makes me nervous though."

"Shhhh, relax now, you need all the rest you can get. This is hard enough to do on a normal day, and you're seven months pregnant with twins."

"Ty, I'm so happy you're here. I know I've told you before, but now I feel complete."

"So do I babe, so do I."

Ty focused on massaging her back starting at the top and working towards the bottom. He could feel her relax under his hands. So now that made two of them being nervous. He vowed to himself once again to put his anxiety behind him for the sake of his wife and future children. He felt Bay's head lolling against his shoulder and saw that she had fallen asleep. Very gently he laid her on her side and wrapped himself around her once more. He managed another few hours of fitful sleep

They woke up in the morning and had their breakfast in the room. Bay changed into a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants and Kathryn and Michelle came by to check on them. Bay went back to bed with Ty and after lunch Regina, Angelo, Daphne and Abby came for a visit. Bay was ecstatic to see them. Abby wrapped her hands around Bay.

"Big sister, you are fat. I can't get my arms around you any more." Abby giggled.

"Yes, you are right Abby, you niece and nephew are in there."

Abby kneeled in front of Bay and placed her ear against her belly. She looked up at Bay with a serious expression.

"I think they're crying because they're hungry." She said matter-of-factly.

Angelo laughed and gently pulled her away.

"Laisse ta soeur, cherie, elle va etre tres fatigue."

"Va bien Papa." Abby replied in perfect French.

Bay looked at them wistfully. That could have been me speaking French fluently, she thought. She loved Abby dearly, but sometimes she was overcome by mixed feelings about the whole switch and about what her live could have been like had she grown-up with her biological parents. She was brought back to reality by John walking into the room.

"Where's my daughter, where're my grandchildren?" He said with a booming voice.

He enveloped Bay into a big hug. Bay had tears in her eyes.

"Dad, it's good to see you. Thank you so much for bringing me Ty. You had no idea how much I needed him here."

"I know Bay, I know. I'm happy it worked out"

Ty stepped out of the bedroom and walked towards John. He also hugged him.

"Thank you John. You've got no idea how much it means to me to be here with her."

"It's ok Ty. No need to thank me. You need to be with your family in times like this. It wasn't easy convincing your Commander, but heck, the powers of persuasion of a Kennish should never be underestimated. Especially as he now has a reserved box for all the future baseball games."

Ty laughed "Yes, knowing my Commander I'm sure he drove a hard bargain."

"Yes, but I drove an even harder one."

Bay turned to Daphne "Are you staying here at the hotel or with Emmett?"

"I'm staying with Emmett close to the Jarvits Center. He'll come straight to the gallery tonight."

They sat around and chatted for another bit until Kathryn signaled everyone to get up and leave.

"Guys, Bay needs some rest, the hair stylist and the make-up crew will be here in two hours and then its show time."

They all left with promises to see Bay and Ty at the gallery later on. Bay leaned against the sofa and ran her hands over her belly.

"It's great to see them, but exhausting to keep-up with everyone talking at the same time."

"I bet it is. Do you want me to rub your back again?"

"Yes, and my feet."

They settled into bed and Ty started working on her back.

"Ty, will you be ok tonight?"

Ty sighted. She knew him so well. He kissed her neck.

"For you I'll be ok."

"Thank you. Somehow we'll get through it together."

Bay yawned and Ty had her lie down and concentrated on her feet. She fell asleep in 10 minutes and he went into the lounge to watch TV for an hour.

Two hours later Michelle was at the door with the hair stylist and the make-up artist. Bay was already up and showered and drinking her decaf in the lounge.

"Bay, how are you feeling? Are you ready to do this?"

"I'm fine Michelle, I'm excited about tonight."

"Good, I've got your dress here and the people to get you ready. We'll go into the other room. Ty, pretend it's your wedding day all over again and leave us to it until she's ready."

Ty laughed and raised his hands in exasperation.

"Whatever you say Ms. Adams. I'm at your beck and call."

For the next hour Bay let herself be completely and fully pampered. Her hair was styled into an elaborate braid, she had a manicure and the make-up artist created a make-up that was both dramatic and fresh. When they finally let Bay look in the mirror she gasped.

"Oh Michelle, is that me?"

"You betcha darlin'. Do you like it?"

"I love it. I've become so used to being mostly on bed rest and in sweatpants that I've forgotten what it was to wear make-up and having my hair done."

"Let's get you into your dress. I'm just gonna run to see Ty and tell him to get ready as well. I bet he can't wait to get into his black tie." Michelle laughed and winked at Bay.

Bay removed the dress from the protective cover and gasped again when she saw it. Of course she had seen the Vera Wang numerous times as it had been fitted, but it never seized to amaze her. It was a deep burgundy red with hand-sewn silver filigree threads from top to bottom. She slipped into it with Michelle's help and was glad that it fit perfectly. Even Michelle, who had pretty much seen it all, stepped back and gasped when she was Bay in the dress.

"Oh Michelle, it's beautiful. The only thing I'm sorry about is that I can't wear heels."

"I know Bay, but you look so amazing that it doesn't really matter. The dress is long enough that no one will be able to tell anyway."

Bay slipped into the flat red sandals that Michelle had laid out for her.

"Are you ready to show your husband how amazing you look?"

"I sure am."

Together they walked into the lounge where Ty was patiently waiting. He turned around when the door opened and his mouth fell open when he saw Bay.

"Bay…Oh Wow!"

Bay smiled at him and spun around.

"Does your wife look alright?" she asked

"Does my wife look alright? Michelle, what have you done with my wife? She looks absolutely amazing."

Michelle smiled proudly "Oh well, just a few accents here and there and one can never go wrong with a Vera Wang. You don't look so bad yourself."

Bay looked at Ty properly and her whole face lit-up.

"Oh Ty, you look gorgeous. I'm so proud to have such a handsome husband."

Michelle opened her purse and took out two boxes.

"One more thing. The jewels. I've got a good friend at Van Cleef and he has lent you these for the night."

She opened the boxes and Bay gasped at the earrings, necklace and bracelet set in rich red rubies that matched the color of her dress.

"Oh Michelle! These are out of this world. I can't wear them, how much are they worth?"

"A lot Bay. But you don't worry about that. Tonight you deserve to look like a princess."

She helped Bay with putting them on and Bay reverently ran her hand across the necklace.

Ty smiled "Bay, you're positively radiant. And you sparkle!"

"Are we ready to go?" Michelle looked at her watch "We're fashionably late, the timing is perfect."

Ty offered his arm and Bay took it. Together they made their way downstairs and into the waiting limo. They couldn't help noticing the admiring and envious glances they were given when they walked through the lobby together.

They arrived at the gallery a short time later and there was already a crowd inside. Ty closed his eyes briefly and Bay grasped his hand tightly.

"It'll be ok Ty, I'm here with you."

Ty nodded and together they exited the car. Two or three photographers had gathered outside and asked Bay to pose for them by herself and with Ty. She smiled and complied. Michelle looked at her proudly, she was a natural. They entered the gallery hand in hand and were immediately surrounded by a horde of people. Ty grasped Bay's hand tighter and she gave him a weak smile. He picked up a glass of champagne from a waiter and handed her a glass of orange juice. She was busy shaking hands and greeting everyone and looked relived when she spotted Regina, Angelo, Kathryn and John in the background.

Together they walked further into the space. Ty looked at some of the familiar art pieces and some that he had not seen before. Each piece was beautiful in his eyes. The interest in them seemed to be enormous judging by the amount of people that were gathered in front of each painting. He spotted Emmett walking towards them.

Bay smiled and hugged him and Ty shook his hand and nodded at him. He couldn't bring himself to smile.

"_**Bay, these are amazing. When did you start going in this direction**_?"

"_**It was a teacher I had in German who got me started, then my pregnancy made it more intense**_."

"_**Do you mind if I take pictures**_?"

"_**Of course not, if I get too see them after**_."

Bay was interrupted by an art critic, who wanted to have a word with her and Emmett disappeared. Ty marveled at how his wife was handling all the attention. She asked him to go get her a glass of water and he walked away.

Bay was loving all the attention and loved seeing her work on the walls, all enhanced by special lighting, which brought out the most dramatic effects.

"Bay, Christ, you're looking hot. Even up the duff with twins you've still got it. How could I have missed out on you all those years ago?"

Bay turned around surprised and saw Wilke standing there with a big smile ready to hug her. Behind him stood Ty with a glass of water in his hand and a raised eyebrow looking slightly bemused at the scene in front of him.

"Wilke" Bay said and hugged him "I haven't seen you in ages."

"Yes, indeed, and what a shame that was. I would've loved to try and seduce you away from that soldier of yours had I known you looked this hot."

Bay smiled "Careful, the soldier is standing right behind you."

Wilke turned around and looked straight into Ty's face. He did a mock salute and grinned.

"Oooops, sorry there. Bay and I go back a long time. I'm Wilke."

"I'm Ty, the husband." Ty said and shook Wilke's hand firmly.

"You're a lucky guy!"

Wilke turned and looked over Bay's shoulder.

"I see some ginger hair back there, could this be my lucky night? See you later beautiful."

Bay laughed as Wilke scampered off in direction of Daphne.

"Oh Ty, I hope that this won't cause trouble with Emmett. Wilke had a thing with Daphne once."

"I really couldn't care less."

Bay saw Ty looking over her shoulder and a shadow creeping briefly across his eyes. She turned around and saw Toby. She gasped as she looked at him coming towards her. He looked gaunt and pale with black hair, which hung around his face in greasy strands. On either side of him he had two anorexic looking girls hanging on his arms.

"Bay" he said and hugged her.

He smelled of booze and cigarettes. Bay felt slightly nauseous and took a step back.

"Toby, what's going on with you? You look awful and you stink of alcohol and cigarettes."

Toby just shrugged and downed a glass of champagne in one gulp. He looked at Bay with glassy eyes.

"Sis, it looks like we both finally made it. Me in the music world and you in the art world. I should get another drink for a toast." His voice slurred.

Ty grabbed Bay's hand. She was horrified.

"Toby, I hate seeing you like this. How long has this been going on?"

Toby turned and put his arms around each of the two girls.

"Amanda, Samantha, do you hate seeing me like this as well? Just like my little Sis' does?"

The girls both giggled and shook their heads. They kissed him on the cheek.

"I need another drink. See you later Bay and congrats."

He made his way to the bar, posing for photographers as he walked. Bay looked at Ty and he put his arm around her.

"Did you know about this?" she asked him.

"I heard one thing or the other, but I didn't want to burden you with it."

"Ty, we need to do something."

"Your parents are trying to handle it. He's been in and out of rehab. We need to stay out of it for the time being."

"How come everyone knew but me?" Bay was angry.

"Bay, there's nothing you could have done if you knew, he's chosen a path of self destruction for the time being. Let your family handle this."

Bay continued her mingling, but Ty saw that she had lost some of the earlier sparkle. Damn Toby, why did he have to show up and ruin the evening for her. They were delighted though to see Mary Beth and Travis, who had made it all the way from KC, having left their three kids with her MB's mother for the weekend.

Michelle came to see Bay two hours later.

"Darlin' it can't be going any better. You're a success. The buyers love you, the critics love you."

"Thank you for all the hard work Michelle."

"I think you should retire for the night. You look tired and I still need your presence for the next three evenings here."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Please have Ty take you to the hotel. I'll handle the rest for tonight."

Ty couldn't look any happier. He took Bay's hand and navigated them through the crowd to the exit. The limo was already waiting outside and Ty helped Bay inside and they sped off in the direction of the hotel.


	10. Chapter 10

_**I was in such a hurry to post the last chapter that I didn't even get to thank you for your reviews and support. I love writing this story. Now that I'm on vacation I find myself with too much time in my hands, so here goes the next update. **_

Bay fell asleep in the limo on the way to the hotel and Ty gently nudged her awake when they arrived. They entered the hotel room and he guided her into the bedroom. Bay was walking like a zombie and hardly noticed Ty taking off her expensive jewels and unzipping her dress. He tried to get her to wear a t-shirt, but she was just too tired and he helped her into bed. She was instantly asleep.

Ty looked at his watch. It was past 1 AM. He took a beer from the mini-bar and sat by the window for half an hour. He looked at the Manhattan sky line and took a deep breath. He had made it through Bay's opening in one piece. At one stage when he went to fetch her the water he had broken out in cold sweat just by not being near her, but then Wilke's flirting with his wife had brought him back to earth.

He was still angry at Toby and his wasteful state when he showed up at the opening with those two harlots. He pondered if he should have told Bay what MB had been e-mailing him over the past 6 months together with the clippings from various gossip magazines that she would attach. At the time he had been happy that they were living in Germany and that Bay didn't have access to all the gossip about her brother being in and out of rehab, the trashed hotel rooms while on tour and the fights he loved picking with the paparazzi. He had been incredibly successful with his band "Dark Sauce", but had not been able to handle the baggage that came with being famous.

He yawned and ran his hand across his face. He finished his beer and went to join his wife in bed. He wrapped himself around her as usual and smiled at her gentle snoring that came with the pregnancy. Now that the opening was over he finally managed to have a proper nights' sleep.

Bay woke up at 10 the next day. After an urgently needed bathroom visit she went back into bed and snuggled with her husband. He opened his eyes sleepily and stroked her back.

"How are you feeling today babe?"

"I'm feeling great, I slept like a baby. I can't even remember getting into this bed. How about you?"

"I slept really well for once. I guess that now that we've got through that opening, I can relax a bit more."

"You did great Ty. I don't know what I would have done without you there."

He kissed her in response and placed his hands around her belly.

"I love you so much Bay"

"I love you too."

They felt three strong kicks coming from her belly and laughed. Bay winced.

"I think someone is jealous down there. I love you too my sweet babies."

Ty bent down to kiss her belly.

"Yes, so does your Dad."

Bay's stomach grumbled and Ty looked up.

"Jealous or hungry? What do you think? Is it time for room service?"

"Jealous and hungry. I want the whole deal. I'm starving."

Ty went to make the call and a short time later they settled in front of the TV to have their breakfast. Kathryn and Regina called to ask how she was doing and to congratulate her on her successful opening. Bay asked Kathryn about Toby, but Kathryn sounded vague and didn't want to talk about it. Michelle called next.

"Bay, how are you doing?"

"Great Michelle, how did it go?"

"How did it go? Bay, all of your paintings sold."

"What? You must be kidding me!"

"I'm not! I told you so! And you wouldn't believe who bought 5 of them."

"Who?"

"Brangelina!"

"Oh my God Michelle, were they there?"

"No, but they sent a representative. Their agent had been in touch with me ever since the catalogue went out, but I didn't want to make you even more nervous."

"Wow!"

"Yes Bay, that's the word. Now I only need you for two hours this evening and two hours tomorrow evening and then you can enjoy some peace and quiet back home."

Bay exchanged some more pleasantries and then hung-up. She looked for Ty, and heard him in the shower. She stormed into the bathroom.

"Ty, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie bought 5 of my pieces."

Ty looked at her incredulously from under the shower head.

"Wow!"

"Yes, that's exactly what I said. Everything sold, everything! Michelle only needs me for two more evenings and then we can go to KC."

"That's wonderful Bay. I'm speechless."

"No one wants to talk to me about Toby. I need to call Wilke."

Ty rolled his eyes.

"Bay, drop it, this is not the time for you to be worrying about Toby."

"Ty, I need to. He's my brother. I'll worry more if I don't know what's happening."

"Ok, ok. There's no need to get angry. Do you have Wilke's number?"

"No, but Daphne might."

"Well, give her a call then."

Bay picked up her iPhone and Facetimed Daphne. She picked up immediately.

"Bay, I am so proud of you, I can't believe the pieces I saw last night."

"Thanks Daphne, I am so relieved it was a success."

"How are you feeling today? How are the babies?"

"We're all fine. Listen, do you have Wilke's number?'

Daphne looked flustered for a second, then regained her composure.

"Wilke? Yes, I do, but he's staying at your hotel."

"He is?"

"Yes, his father owns it."

"Really? I had no idea."

"He's in room 323" Daphne said as an afterthought, then blushed furiously.

"Okayyyyy, is there something you want to tell me?"

Bay looked at the screen incredulously and saw Daphne turn around.

"Listen Bay, I got to go. I'll speak to you later, ok?" She disconnected the call.

Bay was still staring at the phone when Ty walked past her with a towel wrapped around his waist.

"Bay, is everything all right? Did you get the number?"

"Ty, why would Daphne know which hotel room Wilke is staying in?"

"Uh oh, has someone been naughty?"

"She's with Emmett! Ty, this is not funny."

Ty kissed her nose.

"No, it's not, though I would much prefer her being with Wilke if you ask me. I can handle a bit of flirting better than an ex who's still carrying a torch for you after 8 years."

"Oh Ty, what's your problem?" Bay asked angrily.

"What's my problem? My problem is that I don't want Emmett to play "uncle" with our kids and that's exactly what's gonna happen if he stays with Daphne."

"So you're saying that it's fine for Daphne to cheat on him?"

"It's not like he hasn't done it before, is it?"

"Ty, that was years ago, we're past that now."

"Fine! I rather Daphne finds someone else so you don't have to see Emmett at all."

"Seriously Ty?" Bay said with a raised voice.

"Yes, seriously." Ty was getting angry as well.

"Great Ty, just great. Maybe you want me to jump off a tower and break my ankle again to prove that I love you and not Emmett?"

Ty winced at the memory.

"Bay…"

"No! Don't you dare "Bay" me! It's been 8 years Ty. For God's sake when will you get past Emmett?"

"When he gets past you. Which will be never!"

Bay turned her back on Ty and stormed into the bedroom slamming the door behind her.

Ty ran his hands across his face 'That went well' he thought.

Bay picked up the phone in the bedroom and dialed Wilke's room. It rang a couple of times, then she heard Wilke's sleepy voice on the other side.

"Wilke, it's Bay."

"Bay, jeeez, what time is it?"

"It's almost noon. Why are you still asleep?"

"Long night."

"Listen, I need to talk to you about Toby."

There was a pause on the other end of the line.

"Bay…"

"No, don't you stall now as well. I spoke to numerous people and no one wants to talk about Toby with me. Not even my husband."

"Ok, ok, can you give me half an hour to shower and dress and I'll come up?"

"Fine, half an hour."

"See you soon."

Bay sat on the bed and sulked. She was not going to go out of the room until Wilke arrived. Let Ty stew for a bit. How dare he bring up the whole Emmett business after all this time? How dare he not condone Daphne's cheating, if that was indeed what had happened? She was so angry.

There was a knock on the door half an hour later. Ty opened the door and saw Wilke standing outside. He shook his hand and beckoned him inside.

"Have a seat, I'll go and call Bay."

Wilke sat on the couch while Ty went to knock on the door to their bedroom.

"Bay, Wilke is here."

Bay opened the door and walked past her husband without even glancing at him. Ty sighted.

Wilke go up and observed the proceedings around him. He hugged Bay.

"Marital tiff?" he asked.

"Something like that." Bay answered curtly.

They sat down.

"So, tell me about Toby."

"Bay, I'm not sure how much I can tell you. We haven't hung out for the past six months. He used to stay here at the hotel whenever he was in New York. I was working here at the time and we used to go out together and hit the clubs."

"How did he get like this?"

"I don't know. He tours a lot and I guess he can't handle the success. He started hanging out with the wrong crowd. It started with gambling, then alcohol, now drugs."

"Drugs?" Bay was horrified.

"Yes, snorting cocaine here and there. He was in rehab once for three months. He got out about a month ago, but it doesn't seem to have worked."

"Did you speak to him last night?"

"Yes, very briefly since he had one drink too many."

"Ty says my parents want to put him back in rehab."

"That wouldn't be a bad thing. If he could stay close to home and stop touring for a while it would help. Maybe being an uncle will clear his head a bit."

"What can I do to help?"

"I don't know Bay. He doesn't handle criticism very well. Maybe if you don't judge him it'll go better."

"I'll try. It just makes me so sad."

Wilke moved closer to her and put his arm around her shoulders.

"I know Bay, me too."

"Are you living here in New York now?"

"No, I'm just came for your opening. I've been managing one of my father's hotels out in California."

"I can't believe your dad owns this place."

"Yes, it's quite amazing. And he has one more in Texas and the one I'm managing in Los Angeles."

"Thank you for coming Wilke."

"Sure thing babe, I wouldn't have missed your opening for the world. I even bought one of your paintings for the hotel. We will hang it outside this suite and we'll rename it Bay K. Mendosa suite. So everyone will now know that the now famous Bay K. Mendosa stayed here before she had her first showing."

"Oh Wilke, that is so sweet."

"I wish I could afford one for myself, but your agent drives a hard bargain."

"I'll paint one for you soon and it'll be a present."

"That would make my day!"

Ty had been observing them quietly from across the room where he had been pretending to read the paper. He liked Wilke. He obviously came from money, but he didn't have any airs about him and he was being a good friend to Bay. Ty didn't know about the drugs, just one more thing to add to Toby's destructive lifestyle. He hoped that he would get his act together.

"Wilke, are you married?" Bay asked.

"Me! No way Jose! The world is full of beautiful women to explore, why would I want to chain myself up?"

"Oh Wilke!"

"Maybe one day I'll find someone who will steal my heart."

"Wilke…did anything happen with you and Daphne last night?"

Wilke looked at Bay surprised and had the grace to look a bit embarrassed. He kissed her cheek and stood up.

"Bay, what happens in Manhattan stays in Manhattan. I don't kiss and tell. I gotta go now. Hope to see you before you go back."

He went over to Ty to shake his hand.

"Hope she won't give you a hard time for long, man. I remember she has quite a temper!"

Ty shook his hand and rolled his eyes.

"Nice to meet you Wilke, see you soon."

Ty walked Wilke to the door and when he got back he found Bay looking at the wall with tears streaming down her face. He sat down next to her and carefully put his arm around her shoulders. She leaned against him.

"Drugs Ty, drugs and gambling. How could this have happened?"

"I don't know sweetheart. I hope that he'll be able to pull himself together."

"I'm still kind of angry at you."

"Kind of angry? Well, I guess that's better than angry. I'm not going to apologize Bay, not this time. I want Emmett to go where the sun don't shine!"

"Well, I'm not going to apologize either."

"Ok! Let's be unapologetic together then."

Bay managed a small smile.

"Ty, do you think something happened between Wilke and Daphne?"

"I don't know but yes would be my guess. After all he admitted to kissing and not telling."

"God Ty, how awful."

"Yes, well, what Emmett doesn't know won't hurt him."

"I guess. I need to speak to her."

"Bay, she's an adult, if she wants to talk about it fine, if not let it be."

"Yes, I guess you're right."

"Are you ready for some lunch?"

"Yes, I'm starving."

_**Did you like the little marital argument? Nothing like bringing a little Bemmett into the picture to shake things up a bit. Things were too smooth until now. Did you like the chapter? Not long until the babies are here. I've had a few remarks about Toby and the way the story was written, but I always thought he had a bit of a dark side ever since that poker incident in series 1. What about Daphne and Wilke? Did they or did they not? Please send me your reviews, I live for them and love to read every single one. **_


	11. Chapter 11

_**I wasn't going to update so soon, but the finale left me no choice…how depressing.**_

After having had lunch a mollified Bay settled back in bed with Ty to watch a movie. Hardly ten minutes into the comedy, they heard a knock on the door. Ty looked at his watch. It was just past two, who could it be? He got up and went to answer the door.

He was surprised and angry to see Toby standing there. He was wearing dark shades and had the grace to look slightly embarrassed.

"Toby, what are you doing here?" Ty was not happy.

"I want to see my sister."

"If you're here to cause her more heartbreak save it. I've done nothing all morning but to deal with your dramas."

"Look, man, I'm sorry ok. I want to apologize to her. Will you please let me in?"

Bay had heard the commotion outside and walked up to the door. She gasped when she saw Toby standing there and threw herself into his arms.

"Toby, oh Toby, I'm so happy to see you."

Toby hugged her back for a long time.

"I'm sorry about last night Bay."

"Come in, please. Have a seat."

Toby walked inside and settled on the couch. Ty glared at him. Bay looked at Ty.

"Ty, we need a minute. Can you go and watch that movie or something?"

"Fine" Ty said curtly and walked into the bedroom.

Bay settled next to Toby and took his hand in hers.

"Toby…I"

"I know Bay, there's no need for you to say anything. I'm working on it."

"How…what happened? Do you want to talk about it?"

"Yesterday was a bad night. Hell, it's been like bad nights for the past six months. I really didn't want to ruin your opening. I'm so proud of you!"

"Thanks for coming. It means a lot to me."

"Wilke called me. He told me about this morning."

"Listen, if you don't feel comfortable talking about it it's ok, we can just hang out and talk about anything."

"You deserve to know. You're my little sister, even after we found out about the switch. Daphne might be my biological sister, but you're the real thing."

Bay grabbed his hand tighter and Toby came apart. He told her everything. How he had struggled with his music for 3 years until Simone had become a music executive and had come to KC to listen to him once more. How she had cleverly marketed him until he was a big success. How Nikki had it found hard to handle her husband's sudden success due to Simone's help. How it was Nikki who had fallen into the trap of alcohol and drugs, while being home alone for months at a time and how he had been dragged into the hole with her whenever he was home. How Simone and his parents had finally managed to convince them both to go to rehab, but once out they had fallen into the pit again.

"You see Bay, yesterday I asked Nikki for a divorce. I felt terrible about it and picked up those two groupies on the way to your opening. We hit a couple of bars beforehand and I got wasted. It should never have happened."

"Oh Toby, I'm so sorry."

"Not as sorry as I am. Wilke gave me the biggest dressing down this morning. I feel so bad. I'll go to rehab in earnest this time Bay, I want to be a good uncle to those twins."

"Thank you Toby, you don't know what that means to me."

"I asked Mum and Dad to find a place in KC. I'll stay even if it takes me a year to get clean. Will you come and visit?"

"Of course I will Toby, I'll do anything for you."

"Thank you Sis!"

"Let me go get Ty, I know he's freaking out in there."

Bay went into the bedroom and summarized her conversation with Toby. Ty did not look convinced, but he agreed to give Toby a chance. He walked back into the lounge with Bay and sat down. After a few minutes of awkward conversation the three found their rhythm and talked for hours about the past and everything that Toby had missed while they were away. In the beginning Toby's phone had rung non-stop until he turned it off and Bay was so happy to see her brother behaving normally again. The only thing that ruined the moment for her a bit was to see his bloodshot eyes and the slight tremble in his hands. At five Toby got up to leave.

"I need to go by Wilke's room. I promised I would see him before I head out."

"Where are you heading out to" Bay asked concerned.

"I'm going straight to KC with Dad first thing tomorrow and I'll check into rehab by the afternoon."

"Toby, I know it's going to be ok."

"Yes Bay, I think so too."

She hugged him as tightly as she could with her enormous belly and Ty also hugged him goodbye.

"Take care, Toby, I hope it goes well. Bay and our children need a healthy uncle."

"It will! Do they have names yet?"

"Yes, Mariana Renee and Kai Balin."

"I love those. Take care Ty!"

Bay and Ty spent the next two days resting during the day and going to the gallery in the evening. Everyone wanted a piece of Bay. She did numerous interviews and cleverly dodged questions about her next showing, smiling and pointing at her belly.

The rest of her family had gone back to KC, but for Kathryn, who quietly organized all her schedule in the background. To Ty's utmost relief Bay seemed to have forgotten about the outing he had promised her to Times Square.

They were finally on a flight back to KC and Bay was ecstatic. They nearly didn't board due to a last minute heated argument with the airline representative, who had looked at Bay's size and refused to check them in. Only a lot of persuasion by Kathryn and the well documented forms from her doctor has finally convinced the airline to let them get on board.

Bay buckled up for the landing and got emotional at seeing KC's familiar skyline from the window. She grabbed Ty's hand tightly as the plane touched down.

"We're home together after so many years."

Ty smiled at her.

"We sure are."

They walked over to the baggage claim area and Ty went to get a trolley. When he was walking back he saw Bay clutching Kathryn's arm and her other hand clasped around her belly. He let go of the trolley and ran over to Bay.

"Bay, what's happening? Are you ok?"

"No Ty, I'm not. My belly hurts, it hurts really bad. I think something's wrong."

Those were her last words before her eyes rolled back and she fainted. Ty caught her before she hit the ground and saw that she was bleeding.

He went white as a sheet and picked-up his phone to dial 911. Kathryn was kneeling next to Bay trying to wake her up.

After calling 911 Ty collapsed next to Bay and laid her head on his lap. He was crying.

"Sweetheart, please open your eyes. You're scaring us so much. Please Bay."

Being that they were at the airport, the stretcher team took less than 5 minutes to arrive. They quickly assessed the situation after hearing Kathryn's explanation and placed Bay on the stretcher. They took her vitals and placed and oxygen mask on her face and a drip into her arm.

Ty was out of his mind with worry. He left Kathryn to deal with the luggage after promises that she would come to the hospital as soon as possible and he got into the back of the ambulance with Bay. They sped off with sirens blaring and arrived at the hospital in 20 minutes. On the way Ty had heard a lot of scary radio traffic with the paramedics briefing the team at the hospital and words like 'unconscious", 'possible pre-eclampsia with bleeding' and 'distressed fetuses'. He was a mess by the time they arrived. There was already a crew of doctors and nurses assembled at the emergency room entrance when the ambulance pulled-up and Bay was transferred to another stretcher and wheeled off to a room, where they unhooked her from the ambulance equipment and hooked her up to the hospital equipment. Ty held her hand as much as he could with all the commotion around him and Bay briefly opened her eyes.

"Ty?" she asked confused.

"I'm here baby, I'm here. Please hang-in there. Everything is going to be fine, the babies will be here soon."

"Please don't let them get switched." Bay whispered, her voice hardly audible. Then she passed out again.

The doctor raised an eyebrow and looked at Ty.

"Long story." Ty said.

"Mr. Mendosa, we have just given her a blood transfusion and we will be proceeding with an emergency caesarean straight away. The babies are in distress. You need to leave now."

Ty looked in despair as they wheeled his wife off to the operating theater. He felt a hand on his shoulder and saw that John and Kathryn were standing behind them. He hugged them tightly.

"John, Kathryn, I'm so happy to see you. She looked so pale."

"She'll be ok Ty." John said and patted his shoulder "They'll all be ok."

"Now we have to wait." Said Kathryn and guided Ty towards the waiting area.

_**After such a dramatic and sad series finale yesterday, I couldn't help but write a slightly angsty chapter. I hope you enjoy and I'll try and promise that the break-up won't keep me from writing, although I must admit that I feel sad today. Please review as always. I would like to thank all the followers. Let's try and keep this romance alive in the Fanfiction world with this story and the excellent ones from EyesOnFire and LightningStorm**_.


	12. Chapter 12

They waited for what seemed to be an eternity to Ty, in reality it was close to two hours. He paced the little waiting area back and forth for that entire time, running his hands through his hair. He felt guilty for not having insisted that she skipped the last two days at the gallery, he wished he would have just whisked her away back home as soon as the showing had ended.

He looked at his watch. It was past ten at night and still no one had come to update them on what was happening. He heard the door open and turned around hopefully, but it was just Daphne. He could see that she had been crying as she walked up to him and enveloped him in a hug. Regina and Angelo came in shortly after and also hugged him.

"Any news?" Regina asked.

Ty just shook his head. Half an hour later the door opened again and the Doctor was standing in the room.

"Are you the father?" he asked Ty.

"Yes."

"Could we please have a word in private?"

Ty stepped out into the hallway. He looked at the Doctor with despair in his eyes.

"We've just finished operating on your wife. Her placenta became disconnected, a condition we call pre-eclampsia. It's serious and not uncommon with pregnancies involving twins, but luckily we caught it just in time."

"How is she?"

"We've transferred her to the ICU for the time being. She lost a lot of blood and had to get transfusions. She'll be mostly in and out of consciousness for the next two days, but you should be able to see her soon."

"How're the…" Ty couldn't get himself to finish the sentence.

"Your son and daughter are healthy under the circumstances. They came early, so we had them transferred to the NICU and it's most probable that they'll need to stay in the incubator for another 2 to 3 weeks."

"When can I see my wife? When can I see my babies?"

"I'll have a nurse take you to the NICU soon and you should be able to see your wife within the next two hours. We'll get you settled in a room so that you can stay with us."

"Thank you for saving them Doctor, thank you."

"They'll be fine. Could I just ask you to sign here for me please?"

Ty scribbled his name down on the form and saw the Doctor's name for the first time. He looked at the Doctor, then at the name again. 'Could it be?' he asked himself.

"Were you related to Private Scagliotti by chance?"

He saw the brief look of pain in the Doctor's eyes.

"Yes, she was my daughter. Did you know her?"

"I served with her in Kabul back in 2013. I heard what happened, I'm so sorry for your loss."

Ty knew that Aida had been hit in the head by a stray bullet in Yemen two years ago and that she had succumbed to her injuries. He ran his hand across the scar on his chin.

"She was the one who stitched me up right here after I got hit by debris."

The Doctor looked at it and Ty saw a ghost of a smile pass across his face.

"Well, if you hadn't told me about it, I wouldn't have noticed. She was always good with a needle, ever since she was a little girl."

"Doctor, she was an amazing woman. I'm proud that I got a chance to serve alongside her."

"Thank you…" the Doctor looked at him with a question in his eyes.

"Ty Mendosa, ex-Staff Sergeant Mendosa."

"You're not in the army any more?"

"I left last week after 8 years."

"I wish my little girl had never joined in the first place, but she said it was her calling."

They were interrupted by a nurse who came to take Ty to the NICU. The Doctor shook Ty's hand and excused himself.

"It was nice to meet you Ty, if you allow me to call you by your first name."

"It was nice meeting you too Doctor and thank you again."

Ty excused himself for two minutes while he went to brief the rest of the family. They looked worried, but relieved and vowed to wait until he had seen Bay. He followed the nurse through the innumerous corridors and they took the elevator to the third floor. Ty saw the signs for the NICU and 'Authorized Personnel Only" and felt his heart contract. The nurse smiled at him in understanding and opened the doors with her card. Ty followed her inside and soon they were standing in front of a glass wall. Behind it Ty saw two incubators with the tiniest babies he had ever seen inside them.

"Mr. Mendosa, there's your son and there's your daughter."

Ty looked at his babies and took a deep breath. Beneath all the tubes and machines he could see that they both had black hair. He felt tears in his eyes.

"Do they have names?" He heard the voice of the nurse in the distance.

He cleared his throat and tried to speak.

"Yes. Kai and Mariana." He croaked.

"Those are beautiful names. Do you want to touch them?"

"Could I?"

"Yes, let me get you a gown and gloves and I'll take you to them."

She came back a short while later and Ty donned the yellow hospital gown and put on the gloves, cap and the protective plastic over his shoes.

He followed the nurse, who opened the door and they were greeted by another nurse, also wearing the protective NICU gown.

"Hello there, I'm Nurse Teresa, let me take you to your babies."

Ty followed her to the two incubators.

"Do you see those two holes in the side? That's where you can put your hands through."

Ty carefully inserted his hands through the two openings. It felt warm inside. He slowly stroked his daughter's belly and her hand. The infant grabbed his finger in reflex and Ty gasped.

"Hey there sweet Mariana. Welcome to this world, although it was slightly too early. I'm your Daddy. Everything will be fine I promise and soon you'll get to meet your Mum as well."

The nurse looked at him and smiled.

"They're beautiful. Congratulations."

"Yes, they are."

Ty walked to the next incubator, where his son was laying. He inserted his hands through the openings there as well and stroked his head. He then moved his finger down to the tiny hands and his son grabbed it immediately. He held on to his finger tightly.

"Hello Kai, you do have a strong grip. We named you aptly. I'm so happy to meet you; I know your Mum can't wait to see you."

He spent another half hour alternating from one incubator to the other. His eyes moistened again when he saw that the nurses had placed two signs on the sides. On the blue one they had written Kai Mendosa and on the pink sign Mariana Mendosa. The emotion of seeing those two tiny humans now boasting his name was a bit too much for him and he ran his hand across his eyes to wipe away his tears.

The phone rang and after a muted conversation between Nurse Teresa and whoever was on the other side she hung-up the phone and walked over to Ty.

"That was the Nurse from the ICU. She says your wife is awake and you can go and see her now."

"Really? Oh my God. I'll be right there, which way do I go?"

"I'll take you but first you have to get out of the protective clothes."

Ty removed the clothes as fast as he could and tossed them into the bin outside. He followed the Nurse to the elevators and she gave him clear directions on how to get to the ICU. Soon Ty was standing in front of another pair of scary looking doors with warning sings all over them. He rang the bell and another Nurse opened the doors.

"Mr. Mendosa?"

"Yes, that's me."

"Please come in. Your wife has been asking for you."

"Thank you."

"She keeps saying something about switching her babies; do you know what she means?"

"Yes I do. Her maiden name is Bay Kennish. She is one of the two babies who got switched here in Kansas City 24 years ago."

The nurse looked at him open-mouthed.

"Really? I remember that story so well. It made headlines about 10 years ago."

"Yes. Really. I guess she is scared it's going to happen to our kids as well."

"No it won't. This is not the same hospital."

She gave him yet another gown and Ty slipped into it quickly. He followed the Nurse to the third room on his right.

"There she is. Please take it easy, she's still recovering."

Ty nodded and gasped horrified when he saw Bay. She looked as white as the pillow she was resting on. She looked tiny and fragile in that bed and was hooked up to an innumerous amount of tubes and needles. She had her eyes closed and he carefully pulled up a chair to sit next to the bed.

He slowly took her hand in his, careful not to touch any of the IV needles that were stuck into the back of her hand. With his other hand he tenderly removed a strand of hair from her forehead.

She opened her eyes and looked around confused. Her eyes settled on him and she tried to focus.

"Ty"?

"Yes baby, I'm here. You're ok."

"The babies?"

"They're fine and beautiful. I just saw them. You'll see them very, very soon."

"What happened?"

"You got sick and they had to get the babies out really quickly. But everything will be fine now."

"My belly hurts."

"I know, they did a c-section, it's probably where they cut you open."

"I'm so tired."

"Go back to sleep so that you recover quickly."

Bay closed her eyes and was instantly asleep. Ty got up and went out to brief Bay's family. By the time he arrived at the little waiting room Angelo and Emmett were also there. He gave Angelo a hug and shook Emmett's hand. He then proceeded to brief everyone on the progress. They were all happy that things seemed to be going more or less well and Ty took them Kathryn, John, Regina and Angelo up to the NICU. When they arrived the Nurse tried to stop them.

"Only immeadiate family please. Father and grandparents are allowed."

They all looked at one another and laughed.

The Nurse looked at them and smiled.

"You're the ones aren't you? The ones with the switch?"

"News sure travels fast" Ty said smiling.

"They do when we have such a famous patient. I guess I can make an exception. It's past midnight. No one is around anymore and the only babies who are here are yours."

She opened the doors and beckoned them inside. They stood in front of the glass and looked at little Mariana and Kai in astonishment.

"They're so tiny." Kathryn said and had tears in her eyes.

"They're adorable." Regina was also wiping her eyes.

Angelo and John looked at one another and smiled.

"How does it feel to be a grandfather?" They asked at the same time, then laughed.

"I guess we should go and have a beer to celebrate." John said.

"You two go, I'll catch a ride with Kathryn." Regina said.

"Ty, you look like you could use a drink." John said.

"Uhmm…I don't know. I really don't want to leave Bay and the babies."

"Come on Ty, everyone is sleeping, Bay and the babies included."

"I guess."

Ty went to have a drink with them at a bar nearby and returned to the hospital. He went to see Bay and his babies again, but all were asleep. John promised to bring him a change of clothes and a toothbrush in the morning. Ty went to the maternity ward and looked for the room that would have been Bay's had she not been in the ICU. He found it and stretched out on the bed. He hadn't realized how exhausted he was until his head hit the pillow. He was asleep in minutes, but tossed and turned during the whole night.

He woke up before 6 AM and went to check on Bay. They told his she was stable and if all went well after the Doctor's visit she would be transferred into his room. He went in search of coffee and then dropped to see his babies. He donned the now familiar NICU uniform and spent an thirty minutes with each of them.

By the time he made it back to the hospital room it was past 9. He had a shower and as he was leaving the room to check on Bay he saw that two nurses were wheeling her into the corridor.

"Here you go Dad, she's been cleared to stay in her room as of now." The Nurse said cheerfully.

Ty walked up to Bay and held her hand.

"How're feeling today? I went to check on you earlier, but they told me you were sleeping."

"I'm better, just so tired. My belly hurts a bit. My breasts hurt. When can I see my babies." She asked the Nurse.

"The Doctor said that you can attempt to stand-up after lunch. If we can get you into a wheelchair then, we'll take you to them. We'll give you something to dry your milk as you won't be able to breastfeed." The Nurse said.

"Why aren't they here in the room?" Bay asked panicked.

"It's ok sweetheart. They came earlier than expected and they have to be in an incubator for the next 2 or 3 weeks. We still get to see them, though." Ty said.

"Oh Ty, I want to see them so bad. How do they look like?"

Ty smiled.

"They are tiny and beautiful. They both have black hair and Mariana seems to be a bit more laid back, while Kai has a feisty grip. He must take after you."

Bay managed a smile.

"So our daughter takes after you and our son after me. Guess it'd be worse if it was the other way round. Would you like to raise another Bay?"

"Oh please no, I don't have the energy for that." Ty said smiling.

"Who is older?"

"Kai was pulled out about 6 minutes before Mariana and it shows."

"Can I eat something?"

Ty called the Nurse and she gave the ok for Bay to have a light breakfast. It was delivered half an hour later and she devoured a bagel and drank some coffee. She winced when the bed was lifted a bit for her to eat and Ty looked at her worriedly.

"Are you in a lot of pain?"

"It hurts where the sutures are, but I'll be ok. I think I'm going to rest now for a bit so that I can save my strength for the afternoon."

Ty left to check again on Mariana and Kai as soon as she fell asleep. It was funny that as impersonal as those incubators felt, when they had their fingers wrapped around his, he felt just as close to them as if they were in his arms. He could stay at the NICU the whole day just stroking them and talking to them.

After two hours he went back to the room and Bay had just woken up. Dr. Scagliotti came to check on her and smiled at the progress she was making.

"You are one strong lady, Ms. Mendosa. I think I can give you the all clear to try and stand-up in a couple of hours. I bet you're dying to see those little ones."

"Thank you Doctor, thank you. I can't wait."

"Bay, Dr. Scagliotti is Aida's Dad."

Bay raised her hand to her mouth.

"Oh Doctor, I'm so sorry for your loss."

"Thank you Bay. Every day is a bit of a struggle since she left us. I bet you know all about living in anguish."

"I do know. I hardly slept for 14 months when Ty was in Kabul, but luckily he came back only with that tiny scar on his chin. Unfortunately he also has a lot of scars that are not visible on the outside."

She looked at Ty and grabbed his hand. The Doctor looked at them and smiled.

"At least you won't have to worry about that anymore. I'll leave you two to it then. I'll tell the Nurse to help you into a wheelchair in a couple of hours"

"Doctor…one more thing." Bay said.

"Yes"

"Will we be able to have more children?"

"Yes Bay, there should be no problem with that. Just remember that you just had a c-section so it would be better to avoid a pregnancy in the next 18 months."

"I'm not in that much of a hurry. Just wanted to be sure that we could still have some."

The Doctor left and Ty looked incredibly relieved.

"Ty, stop looking like that. You heard the Doctor. No more kids for almost two years."

"Yes, what a shame and there was me thinking we could try for the third in six months time, while we are on our honeymoon." He winked at her and smiled.

"Oh no we won't! I'll be back on the pill as soon as I can."

"I was just teasing you. Maybe we'll book a romantic weekend in 18 months time." He wiggled his eyebrows at her.

"Maybe…"

After lunch the nurses came to help Bay into the wheelchair. Ty could tell that she was in a lot of pain, but he could also see the steely determination in her eyes. That was the woman he fell in love with. Once they got her settled Ty wheeled her off to the now so familiar NICU. He helped her with putting on the gown and the gloves and finally he took her to see Mariana and Kai.

Bay looked at the tiny babies in the incubator and started crying.

"Oh Ty."

"I know baby, I know."

"They are precious and they are ours."

"Yes they are. Do you want to touch them?"

_**There you go. Another update. There's nothing like a crappy finale to get my writing juices flowing. I still have so much planned for this story. The next chapter will jump three months ahead and will feature Mariana, Kai and…Daphne! Please keep those reviews coming. I have a few faithful followers out there who never miss posting a review. Thank you all!**_


	13. Chapter 13

Bay had just fallen asleep again after giving Kai his bottle, when she heard Mariana cry next to her. She opened her eyes and nudged Ty. He groaned, got out of bed and wandered off in direction of the kitchen.

This had been their life for the past two and a half months ever since they had taken their babies home. They rarely managed more than five hours sleep every night; one of their offspring always seemed to be hungry.

The two siblings had come a long way ever since they had been taken out of the incubators and had developed into healthy and strong infants with the lungs to match. Kai would break out into crying fits of rage when his formula was not delivered straight away, his little fists bunched into tight little balls and his face scrunched up in furious rage. Mariana was the mellower of the two, her crying more subdued although she certainly knew when it was her time to eat as well.

Still Bay and Ty would not have traded their lives for anything else. They were devoted parents and loved their twins dearly. For now they had both of them sleeping in little cots in their bedroom until they were old enough to be moved to the nursery.

Bay woke up with a start. She looked at the clock next to her bed and saw that it was 8:30 AM. Had something happened to the twins? She rarely got them to sleep past 6 AM. She got out of bed feeling oddly refreshed and saw that they were sleeping soundly. Could this be her lucky day?

She looked at Ty who had the covers bunched up around his waist and she suddenly felt a tug in her heart…and in another place. Slowly she got back into bed and sat on top of her husband. She kissed him and started running her hands up and down his chest. She felt him stir. He opened his eyes and looked at her in surprise.

"Bay…what are you doing? Are the kids ok?"

"Shhhhh Ty. They're sleeping, can you believe it?"

She ground herself against him and he smiled lazily, understanding dawning on his face. He ran his hands up and down her sides and tugged at her t-shirt. She took it off and lifted herself to undress. He did the same and softly pushed her back onto the bed stretching out on top of her.

"Bay, it's been so long." He said as he kissed her longingly.

"Yes, way to long." Bay kissed him and wrapped her legs around his body.

He was about to make love to her when Kai broke out into one of his war cries. Ty sighted and Bay banged her fist against the bedcovers in fury.

"Ty, I can't believe it! What timing! Do you realize why people with twins never have any kids after they had them?"

Ty laughed.

"Yes, it seems that having twins equals taking a vow of celibacy."

"I keep having this far stretched hope that one day we'll turn back from being zombies into normal human beings. All we do is feed, change, soothe and repeat."

Ty smiled at her, got out of bed and pulled his pajama pants back on before attending to his son. He picked him up and carried him towards the kitchen. Kai continued his furious crying until Ty stuck a bottle in his mouth after which he sucked it quietly, looking up at Ty with curious eyes.

"Little man, if I didn't know that you don't understand about these things, I would seriously think that you were mocking me."

After he had changed him and put him down on the floor on top of the playing rug, he observed Bay attending to Mariana in the same way.

Once the twins were both fed, cleaned and contently on the rug, Ty went to change into his gym gear.

"Bay, I'm heading out for an hour. Can you handle them for a while?"

"Ty, wait, I want to go with you. My Mum will watch them."

Ty stopped in his tracks and looked at her as if he'd seen an alien.

"Bay, you know that I'm going to the gym and not to Starbucks, right?"

"Yes, and I want to go too."

"Darling wife, what in God's name would make you want to do that?"

"I want you to help me exercise and get back into shape."

Ty still had an incredulous look on his face.

"Bay…the last time we attempted to do some sort of physical activity together, other than the one we tried to do half an hour ago, it ended up with you nearly breaking your ankle."

"Well, are you going to the gym or to Clifton Park?"

"To the gym."

"As long as I don't have to throw myself off a tower I'll be ok."

"Fine then, let's go."

Just as Ty had predicted it went disastrously. After nearly falling off the treadmill, hurting her groin on the bicycle and finally nearly dropping a weight on her head, he managed to convince her to try another day. Bay was not happy.

"Ty, we're going on our 'honeymoon' in three months. I look fat and I want to be able to wear my bikini."

Ty looked at Bay.

"Are you sure you want to do that?"

"See what I mean? You think I'm fat and that I shouldn't wear one." Bay stomped her foot and sulked.

Ty walked up to her and put his arms around her. He rested his hands on her bottom and gently squeezed it.

"My sexy wife, you're damn right I don't want you to wear one. I much rather you wear nothing at all for two weeks."

Bay looked at him and managed a smile.

"So you still think I'm sexy?"

"Bay, my love, I have been trying to exercise twice as hard this morning to burn off the steam from nearly making love to you, before our mighty warrior decided to turn it into a coitos interruptus. I think you're the sexiest woman on planet earth."

Bay smiled and rested her head against his shoulder.

"Oh Ty, I'm so much looking forward to going away with you."

Ty kissed her head.

"So am I sweetie, so am I."

They returned home and Bay collected the twins from Kathryn. She took them back to the guest house where Ty was cooking breakfast while sipping his coffee.

Bay settled the twins on the rug and went to join her husband. Just as they had finished eating there was a knock on the door. Ty went to open it and saw Daphne standing outside. He could tell she'd been crying.

"Daphne, is everything ok?"

"No, it isn't. Can I talk to Bay in private?"

"Sure, come on in."

Bay turned around and smiled at Daphne. Then her smile faded when she saw her face.

"Daphne, are you crying?"

"Bay, I'm going to go and talk to John. I'm taking Mariana and Kai with me." Ty was already grabbing the diaper bad and Bay handed him the twins.

Once he was out the door Bay poured a cup of coffee for Daphne and one for herself and settled on the couch with her.

"Sorry for the mess Daphne, we weren't expecting any visitors."

Daphne looked around and managed a small smile at the amount of baby stuff crammed into the small lounge.

"It doesn't matter Bay, this place still always feels like my home to me."

"What's wrong Daph."

"I'm pregnant." Daphne said and sniffled.

"Oh my God, that's great news. Have you told Emmett?" Bay put an arm around her sister.

"Bay…I don't…I can't."

"Daphne, what do you mean you can't? Emmett has always wanted kids. Things are ok between the two of you, right?"

"Yes, things have never been better."

"Then what's the problem?"

"I don't know if it's his."

Bay nearly choked on her coffee. She put the cup on the table and looked at Daphne with an incredulous look on her face.

"Oh Daphne, oh no!"

"I know, please, please don't look at me like that. I haven't talked to anyone about this."

"Who…whos'?"

"Wilke."

"I knew it. At the time I was almost certain you two hooked-up in New York. Then you didn't mention anything and I forgot about it."

"I was drunk! It was more like a trip down memory lane. I forgot about it as soon as it happened. It didn't mean anything."

"You didn't use protection?"

"I really don't remember."

"Oh Daphne!"

"What am I going to do?" Daphne started crying again.

Bay ran her hand through her hair and looked at Daphne.

"You need to speak to Wilke."

"Wilke? What do you think he's going to do about it? It's not like we want to be together."

"No, but maybe he remembers if you used protection. Then you could be sure it's Emmett's."

Daphne managed a ghost of a smile.

"Yes, maybe that's not such a bad idea. Should I tell Emmett?"

"No Daphne, not until you talk to Wilke. After that it's up to you. I won't say anything; your secret is safe with me."

"I know that Bay. Please don't tell Ty either. He'll be so disappointed in me."

"Of course not! Whatever happens, you know that your baby will have the best auntie and cousins, right?"

Daphne hugged Bay tightly.

"You're the best sister and friend. I'll go to see John and Kathryn now and then I'll call Wilke in the afternoon. Emmett is away for the week on a shoot so at least he doesn't have to see me like this."

"It'll be fine Daphne. Whatever happens, it'll be fine."

"How's Toby?"

"He's doing ok. Tomorrow we're taking the twins to see him again, its visitation day at the facility."

"Do you think I could come too? Somehow I feel the need for family at this moment."

"Sure, he'll be so happy to see you."

"How do I look? Decent enough to drop by J and K?

"I guess. You can always blame it on allergies."

Bay sat on the couch and looked at the door after Daphne had left. What a mess! She hoped that at least Wilke had been responsible enough to wear a condom.

She thought about her husband and this morning and their conversation at the gym. She picked up the phone and called Regina.

"Bay, nice to hear from you what's up?"

"Nothing much, all we seem to be doing is taking care of the twins. It's exhausting some times, but we wouldn't want to have it any other way."

"Oh Bay, I wish I could tell you it'll get better, but there's still a long time until that happens."

"Regina, could I ask you for a favor?"

"Sure Bay!"

"Would you be able to stay here tonight and baby sit? I need some time alone with Ty and I was thinking of going out for diner and then spending the night with him at a hotel."

"Of course I will. That part of your marriage is important as well, you can't neglect that."

"Thank you Regina, you're a good friend and mother. Can I ask one more thing?"

"Sure Bay."

"Can I come round for you to do my hair and make-up? It's been ages since I looked pretty."

"Oh Bay, you always look pretty. Come at 5:30, I'll be back from work then."

"Thank you Regina."

"See you later."

Ty got back soon with the twins and after feeding them, they cooed them to sleep.

"Ty, let's have a nap as well."

Ty looked at her and wiggled his eyebrows.

"A nap or some sexy time? I'm horny as hell after this morning."

Bay feigned exhaustion.

"A nap please. I have a headache."

"Ok then, a nap it is. What's up with Daphne anyway?"

"A lot but I vowed secrecy."

"Fine then, I'm to tired for drama anyway."

They lay down and fell asleep for two hours. Bay felt like a new person when she woke up. She stretched in the bed. So far everything was going according to her plans. She felt Ty's hand stroking her back.

"How's the headache?"

"Much better, how do you feel?"

"Fabulous, this is just what I needed, after those two rascals keep us up all night."

Just on cue Mariana started crying and pretty soon after Kai joined the chorus. Ty and Bay looked at one another and smiled. Bay took Kai and Ty picked-up Mariana and they resumed their routine.

"Bay, I have to go with John down to the City Hall for some permit filing for the garage."

"That's fine Ty, I'm taking the twins to see Regina."

She packed the diaper bags and left the house feeling like a donkey. She couldn't possibly be carrying more stuff.

She arrived at Regina's house and Abby opened the door. She was excited to see Bay and her little cousins. Angelo agreed to take care of the twins, while Bay disappeared into the bedroom.

After having a shower and using one of Regina's many scrubs she emerged to have her hair straightened and having her make-up done. She gasped when she looked in the mirror.

"Oh Regina, I look like a million dollars."

"Yes, Ty won't know what hit him."

"Do you remember the first time we did this?"

"How could I forget Bay? I was so worried and felt so bad about dolling you all up so that you could go and sleep with Ty."

They both laughed at the memory.

"Don't worry about Mariana and Kai, I'll drive them over to your place later."

"Thanks Regina, can you help me into my dress?"

She wore the red maternity dress that she had purchased in Germany the day they had found out they were having twins. It was a bit loose, but she still looked stunning in it.

She drove the short distance to the Hilton, where she had splurged and reserved a mini-suite for the night.

Once she had checked-in she texted Ty.

CAR BROKE DOWN NEXT TO HILTON. PLEASE COLLECT ME WILL WAIT FOR YOU IN THE LOBBY

She got an instant reply.

ON WAY

Twenty minutes later she saw Ty rushing through the doors. He spotted her and stopped in his tracks.

"Bay, wow, you look amazing! Where're the twins?"

"At Regina's."

"I…I don't understand, where's your car?"

"In the garage. Welcome to our date night. Would you care to follow me to our room for the night?"

Ty smiled and held out his arm.

"Well, well, isn't this a nice surprise. Does this mean I get to ravage you for the whole night?"

"It sure does. That's why I feigned a headache in the afternoon, so that we could get some rest."

They took the elevator to the 10th floor and Bay opened the door with her key card. Ty gasped again when he saw the room. The windows were floor to ceiling and it looked like they had the whole of Kansas at their feet. He went to check the bathroom and phantasized at what they would be able to do in the enormous Jacuzzi.

He went back to the room and saw Bay looking out the window. He stood behind her and wrapped his hands around her waist. He kissed her softly on the neck.

"I love you Bay and I love our babies."

Bay turned around and smiled at him.

"I love you too and our babies, but unless Regina calls with an emergency I don't want to talk about them until tomorrow."

She wrapped her hands around his neck and kissed him passionately. She tugged at his shirt and he took it off while unzipping her dress. He marveled at the lacy black underwear she was wearing.

"Is that new?"

"Yes, I bought it today. Do you like it?"

"Bay, you look fabulous."

Bay tried to undo the button of his jeans and he helped her and let them drop to the floor. He hugged her again, this time with more urgency and guided her towards the king size bed.

"One more thing." Bay said.

She disentangled herself from his arms and went to fetch her purse. She took out a small paper bag and opened it. She handed him a pack of condoms.

"I still didn't have the time to go to the Doctor and sort out the pill. We'll need to resort to these for tonight."

"No problem. It's been what, 9 years since I used one of these."

He took the box from her hand and looked at it. Then he smiled and winked at her.

"Bay, a 10 pack? You're expecting a lot from a sleep deprived father of two. I hope that I'll be able to rise to the occasion, I wouldn't want to disappoint you."

Bay gave him a playful slap and kissed him.

"Ty….stop talking!"

_**Nothing like being on vacation to write and write. My favorite form of relaxation. Thanks for your reviews. This is what's going to happen now. As much as I love this story, I want to write a steamy chapter here. As this story is and will remain a T rating, I'm going to write an M rated outtake. You'll find the it under Life of Bay – Outtake 1 – The Date Night. Depending on your feedback I might write one more during the honeymoon. Hope you enjoy.**_


	14. Chapter 14

Ty and Bay drove home in separate cars in the morning and arrived at the guest house together. He got out of his car and opened the door for her. He put his arm around her waist and kissed her.

"Bay, thank you for last night. It was wonderful."

"Yes it was, we'll have to repeat it one day soon. You have no idea how much I'd missed you."

"So, are you ready to see our babies?'

They walked in the door and found Regina and Angelo sitting in the kitchen, each one with an infant in their arms.

"Angelo, I didn't know you came as well" Bay said surprised.

"Yes, cherie, Abby had a sleepover so I decided to come and help Regina."

"Did Mari and Kai behave?" Ty asked

Regina smiled "They are just precious, my little precious grandchildren"

She cooed at Mariana as she held her.

Angelo looked at Kai "This one is a feisty one. He woke up three times during the night wanting a bottle. And when he starts crying nothing can make it stop."

Regina rolled her eyes and looked at Angelo.

"He probably cried even more because of that French crocodile song you kept singing. It used to drive me insane when you sang it to Abby."

Angelo ignored her and bounced Kai up and down on his arm.

"Un crocodil' s'en allant à la guerre  
Disait au r'voir à ses petits enfants  
Traînant la queue, la queue dans la poussière  
Il s'en allait combattr' les éléphants.

Ah les crococo, les crococo, les crocodiles  
Sur les bords du Nil ils sont partis n'en parlons plus  
Ah les crococo, les crococo, les crocodiles  
Sur les bords du Nil ils sont partis tout est fini."

Bay and Ty laughed as Regina made a mock gesture of pulling her hair out and disappeared into their bedroom. Bay followed her and closed the door.

"Thank you Regina, you can't begin to believe what last night meant for us."

Regina smiled and pulled a strand of hair from Bay's face and fastened it behind her ear.

"Yes, you look…"

"Look what?" Bay asked confused

"I don't know the right word…or better how to say it politely…let's say you look satisfied."

Bay looked horrified.

"Do you mean that I look like I had sex all night?" She ran to look at herself in the mirror.

"That's the non-polite way of saying it. But yes!"

"Do you think people will be able to tell? I mean we have to go and see Toby today and stuff."

"Bay, don't be ridiculous. Of course they won't. You can always blame it on the twins and sleepless nights."

Bay smiled.

"Well, if you and Angelo ever feel the need to look…ehmm…satisfied, we'll gladly take Abby for the night."

Regina laughed and waved her hand.

"I think I'll pass on that, but thanks for the offer Bay. You have enough on your plate"

Ty walked in with a naked Mariana in his arms and interrupted the mother daughter moment. He was holding Mariana's onesie in his mouth, and muttered something to Bay about there being no wipes. He found some on the changing table and disappeared again. Bay was sure she heard him curse. She smiled.

"Back to reality it is!"

She changed into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and went back into the living room to take Kai from Angelo so that they could leave. She thanked them again profusely and closed the door.

Kai started crying. Bay held him against her shoulder and patted his back.

"What is it now, you grumpy baby?"

"I think he wants you to sing the crocodile song." Ty winked at her smiling.

"The heck I will Ty, my French is non-existing these days."

He had managed to change and dress Mariana and walked over to Bay holding his daughter in his arms. Kai was still wailing. Ty kissed Bay on the head.

"Last night sure seems a lifetime away." He remarked.

"Yes, and Regina told me I look sexed out."

Ty looked at her with his head crooked to the side.

"I'm not sure what that means, but you look great to me. Do you want to trade and give me your mini-me and you take Mari. I'll deal with him?"

Bay didn't need to be asked twice and she placed Kai in Ty's arms and took Mariana from him.

Kai was instantly quiet when he looked into Ty's eyes.

"How do you do it?" Bay asked enviously.

"I don't know. I guess I just know how to deal with a clone of my precious Bay."

"Jeez Ty, you make it sound like I cry at the top of my lungs all day long."

"It's all he knows to do Bay. I bet when he's older he'll also be throwing coffee cups at his sister and having fits of rage if we don't get him a Happy Meal."

Bay winced at the memory.

"Very funny Ty, very funny…Not!"

Ty just laughed and put the now sleeping Kai in his cot and Bay put Mariana down next to him.

"I'm going to have a shower and get changed. We have to leave for the rehab place in one hour" she said.

When she got out and dressed she went into the living room and saw Daphne sitting next to Ty. He saw the look they exchanged and excused himself to shower.

Bay sat next to Daphne.

"Did you speak to Wilke?"

"Yes I did."

"And…?"

_**More than a 100 reviews! You are the best! Thank you. Here's a short chapter about marital life. I hope you enjoy. What happens next? I want your help on what Daphne's answer will be. Based on your replies I'll write accordingly. I'll also be updating "The return of a soldier" next week.**_


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